The U.S. Department of Commerce published the final results of its third expedited sunset review of the antidumping duty order on certain potassium phosphate salts from China on October 5, concluding that revocation would likely lead to continued or renewed dumping. Commerce determined that the weighted-average dumping margins likely to prevail could reach up to 95.40%.
The 95.40% figure is not a newly imposed blanket duty on all Chinese potassium phosphate shipments. It is the potential dumping margin identified by Commerce for the scenario in which the existing order is revoked. The original U.S. antidumping order was issued on July 22, 2010 and has now entered its third five-year review cycle.
U.S. producers ICL Specialty Products and Prayon participated in the review and submitted substantive responses. Commerce received no substantive response from respondent interested parties and therefore conducted the review under its expedited 120-day procedure.
Potassium phosphate salts are a group of inorganic phosphate chemicals used across food processing, industrial formulations, buffering systems, cleaning applications, water treatment and other specialty chemical markets. U.S. trade measures covering the Chinese products have been in place for more than 16 years.
Commerce also released the results of the third sunset review of the corresponding countervailing duty order. It found that countervailable subsidies could recur if the measure were removed, identifying a net countervailable subsidy rate of 109.11% for several listed companies and all other producers.
The U.S. International Trade Commission is separately conducting the injury portion of the third five-year review. Its determination will address whether revocation of the trade measures would likely lead to renewed material injury to the U.S. potassium phosphate industry.
