USA: Refrigerant manufacturers have appealed against the US International Trade Commission decision not to apply antidumping duties on imports of HFC components from China.
In July, the USITC voted to impose anti-dumping duties on HFC refrigerant blends containing one or more of the HFC blend components R404A, R407A, R407C, R410A, and R507A. As a result, US imports of HFC blends from China are now subject to antidumping duties ranging from 101.82% to 216.37% but the individual components are excluded from any duties.
The American HFC Coalition, which first brought the case to the attention of the authorities, has appealed, in part, the decision to exclude the individual HFC components.
As a result of the Commission decision, the American HFC Coalition says that various companies have already begun to import HFC components and blend those components in the United States. Blending alone, it argues, can be a relatively simple process that adds little value to the finished products.
“Few if any US jobs and insignificant investment are added by shifting the blending operations from China to the United States,” the Coalition says in a statement. “Consequently, the antidumping order on HFC blends is undermined by this decision.”
The pending appeal, filed at the United States Court of International Trade in New York, contests the ITC’s decision to distinguish HFC components from HFC blends and to separate the US industry into manufacturers and blenders. The American HFC Coalition has complained that the record evidence, the law, and common sense are at odds with the ITC determination. It is anticipated that the Court will rule on the case in six to nine months.
The American HFC Coalition comprises refrigerant producers Honeywell, Chemours, Mexichem and Arkema, along with US refrigerant repacker Hudson Technologies and cylinder manufacturers Amtrol and Worthington Cylinders.
