India, Turkey Quartz-Surface Tariffs Less than 8%

WASHINGTON – A federal investigation concluded late last month that quartz surfaces from India and Turkey undercut the market for U.S.-made products … but not by much.

Unfair-trade tariffs, recommended by the U.S. Commerce Department on April 28, came in at less than 8% for the two countries, or much lower than the 300%-plus duties assessed last year on similar goods from China.

If approved by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in June, the combined rates for dumping below-market-price quartz surfaces and subsidized production/exports would range from 7.56% for most materials from Turkey to below 3% for one producer each from the two countries.

The proposed tariffs come after U.S. manufacturer Cambria Company LLC filed a petition last May with the USITC on possible unfair-trade practices from manufacturers and exporters in the two countries. In its complaint, Cambria alleged dumping margins of 344.11% with products from India and 89.38% on Turkish quartz goods.

The investigation by Commerce’s U.S. International Trade Administration (USITA), however, resulted in a anti-dumping rate designation of between 3.19% and 5.15%, based on the manufacturer, for India’s quartz surfaces. The USITA’s proposed rate for Turkey’s anti-dumping activity came to 5.17%.

The subsidy (or countervailing) recommended rates for Indian producers are between 1.57% to 2.34%. All Turkish quartz-surface imports would get a 2.43% subsidy duty.

The proposed tariffs on quartz surfaces from India and Turkey are substantially below the tariff rates finally imposed on material from China, which range from 260% to more than 300%.

The combined unfair-trade tariffs include varying adjustments on the anti-dumping rate to offset export subsidies, making for a hodgepodge schedule involving separate rates for several companies.

The overall (or countrywide) unfair-trade tariff would be 3.19% for Indian quartz surfaces, and 7.56% for products from Turkey. One company from Turkey (Ermaş Madencilik Turizm Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi) received no anti-dumping penalty in the recommendations, resulting in a 2.43% overall rate.

Four companies in India would get a 5.15% combined tariff, due mainly to a higher anti-dumping rate. Pokarna Engineered Stone Ltd., meanwhile, will be tagged with only a 2.67% rate overall, with most of that coming from a 2.34% subsidy duty.

Pokarna Engineered, along with most Indian quartz-surface producers, faced much-higher subsidy rates when the USITA advanced its preliminary tariff rates last year. Attorneys for Cambria argued that the USITA miscalculated a leased-land benefit; the federal agency agreed and raised Pokarna’s subsidy rate from 1.9% to 81.31% in November.

The USITA’s final determination, however, reduced Pokarna Engineered’s subsidy tariff to 2.34%. The agency also applied all of the subsidy rate against the company’s anti-dumping penalty, lowering it to an effective 0.33%.

The USITC will consider the Commerce Department’s recommendation and make a final determination on tariffs by June 11.

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