U.S. Rules On New China Dumping Suit

The U.S. International Trade Commission unanimously ruled that there is a "reasonable indication" that malleable iron pipe fittings from China sold in the United States at less than fair value have injured or threatened to injure the domestic industry.

"This vote is very encouraging in our fight against the illegally dumped fittings from China, a fight we have every intention of winning," said Tom Gleason, vice president of marketing and sales for Ward Manufacturing.

Ward and Anvil International filed their petition on Oct. 30, 2002. The respondent is B&K Industries, an importer of the Chinese fittings.

This is the second suit filed by the two fittings manufacturers. The first suit regarding the dumping of nonmalleable cast-iron fittings was filed early last year and the ITC voted unanimously for the two manufacturers ("U.S. Rules Unanimously On China Dumping Fittings," June PM 2002).

With two active suits under way, legal costs have been high for both companies, Gleason said. In addition, Ward has lost 200 employees, while Anvil has lost 400.

He added that both types of Chinese fittings were sold in Home Depot and Lowe's, and now have flooded the wholesale market. The ITC, in its written decision, found that there is a "likelihood of substantially increased imports" of Chinese fittings into the United States: the period from 1999 to 2001 saw a 7.9 percent increase in imports, while 2002 saw a 45.8 percent increase.

"The domestic industry will likely continue to lose significant sales volume to lower-priced subject imports in a significant adverse impact on the domestic industry," the decision noted.

A preliminary decision for the new suit isn't expected until April or May, with the final determination in October or November. A final decision on the first suit is expected soon.

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Kelly Faloon was a former editor of Plumbing & Mechanical as well as the BNP Media Plumbing Group’s Integrated Content Development Specialist. She also was a former editor of the Radiant Comfort Guide the Radiant & Hydronics Report — both official publications of the Radiant Professionals Alliance — and twice-monthly Radiant & Hydronics eNews, an enewsletter for anyone interested in the world of heating with hot water.

Her editorial specialties included women in plumbing, recruiting for the trades, green construction techniques, water conservation, water treatment, hydronic heating, radiant heating and cooling, snow melt, solar thermal and geothermal.

After a 3½-year stint at sister publication Supply House Times, Faloon joined the PM staff in December 2001 as senior editor. She was named PM’s managing editor in 2006 and editor in 2013.

Previously, she spent nearly 10 years at CCH, a publishing firm specializing in business and tax law, where she wore many hats — proofreader, writer/editor for a daily tax publication, and Internal Revenue Code editor.

A native of Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula, Faloon is a 1986 journalism graduate of Michigan State University.