New Trade Case on Imports of Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates from China and Japan
Two new U.S. antidumping (“AD”) duty petitions and one countervailing duty (“CVD”) petition were filed on Sept. 27 by Eastman Kodak Company (“Petitioner”) against imports of aluminum lithographic printing plates (“lithographic plates”). The two countries named in the AD petitions are China and Japan. The country named in the CVD petition is China.
The merchandise covered by these petitions are certain lithographic plates, which may also be referred to as digital printing plates, offset printing plates, photosensitive printing plates, or thermal printing plates, depending on the plates’ physical characteristics. Lithographic plates are image carriers in the offset printing process. This means that they are able to capture an image using either light or heat and then reproduce the image on a suitable receiving material using fountain solutions and inks. Lithographic plates are commonly used to produce printed goods, such as newspapers, books, and magazines. Specifically excluded from the scope are lithographic plates produced from material other than aluminum, such as rubber or plastic. Please see below for the full text of the proposed scope of the investigations.
The Department of Commerce (“DOC”) and the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) will conduct the investigations. Within the next 45 days, the ITC will determine if there is a reasonable indication that the imports are injuring or threatening to injure the U.S. industry. If the ITC finds that this standard is met, the cases will move to the DOC, which will calculate the preliminary AD and CVD duty margins.
The DOC’s preliminary determinations are currently expected by Dec. 21, 2023 (CVD) and March 5, 2024 (AD). On the date of publication of DOC’s preliminary determinations, importers will be required to deposit the calculated duties upon the products’ entry into the U.S. market. Interested parties should be aware of the potential lapse in U.S. government funding, which is currently set to expire at midnight on Sept. 30, 2023. A lapse in appropriations would cause certain government activities to cease and may impact the deadlines in these investigations.
Importers should also be aware that entries may be subject to AD/CVD cash deposits up to 90 days before the DOC preliminary determinations if the DOC and ITC both issue a finding of “critical circumstances.” For the DOC, this means that imports increased by at least 15 percent following the filing of the petition compared to a similar period (typically three months) before the petition was filed. For the ITC, a finding of critical circumstances is rare.
There are strict statutory deadlines associated with these proceedings and affected companies are advised to prepare as soon as possible. If this product is of interest to you, please let us know so that we can provide you with additional information as it becomes available. A schedule of approximate key dates is attached below.
The following are key facts about this trade case:
Petitioner: Eastman Kodak Company
Foreign Producers/Exporters and US Importers: Please contact us for a listing of individual importers and exporters named in the petition.
AD/CVD margins: Petitioner alleged the following AD/CVD margins:
- China: AD margin of 107.64 percent, ad valorem;
- China: CVD margin above de minimis; and
- Japan: AD margin of 23.52 percent, ad valorem.
Merchandise covered by the scope of the case:
The proposed scope of these investigations describes the imported merchandise as:
The merchandise covered by these investigations is aluminum lithographic printing plates. Aluminum lithographic printing plates consist of a flat substrate containing at least 90 percent aluminum. The aluminum-containing substrate is generally treated using a mechanical, electrochemical, or chemical graining process, which is followed by one or more anodizing treatments that form a hydrophilic layer on the aluminum-containing substrate. An image-recording, oleophilic layer that is sensitive to light, including but not limited to ultra-violet, visible, or infrared, is dispersed in a polymeric binder material that is applied on top of the hydrophilic layer, generally on one side of the aluminum lithographic printing plate. The oleophilic light-sensitive layer is capable of capturing an image that is transferred onto the plate by either light or heat. The image applied to an aluminum lithographic printing plate facilitates the plate’s use in offset printing processes to produce materials such as newspapers, magazines, books, yearbooks, coupons, packaging, and other printed materials. Aluminum lithographic printing plates within the scope of these investigations include all aluminum lithographic printing plates, irrespective of the dimensions or thickness of the underlying aluminum substrate, whether the plate requires processing after an image is applied to the plate, whether the plate is ready to be mounted to a press and used in printing operations immediately after an image is applied to the plate, or whether the plate has been exposed to light or heat to create an image on the plate or remains unexposed and is free of any image.
Subject merchandise also includes aluminum lithographic printing plates produced from an aluminum sheet coil that has been coated with a light-sensitive image-recording layer in a subject country and that is subsequently unwound and cut to the final dimensions to produce a finished plate in a third country (including the United States), or exposed to light or heat to create an image on the plate in a third country (including the United States).
Excluded from the scope of these investigations are lithographic printing plates manufactured using a substrate produced from a material other than aluminum, such as rubber or plastic.
Aluminum lithographic printing plates are currently classifiable under HTSUS subheadings 3701.30.0000 and 3701.99.6060. Further merchandise that falls within the scope of these investigations may also be entered into the United States under HTSUS subheadings 3701.99.3000 and 8442.50.1000. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of these investigations is dispositive.
If you have any questions regarding the content of this alert, please contact Mark Ludwikowski (mludwikowski@clarkhill.com; 202-640-6680), Kevin Williams (kwilliams@clarkhill.com; 312-985-5907), Will Sjoberg (wsjoberg@clarkhill.com; 202-772-0924), Aristeo Lopez (alopez@clarkhill.com; 202-552-2366), Kelsey Christensen (kchristensen@clarkhill.com; 202-640-6670), Sally Alghazali (salghazali@clarkhill.com; 202-572-8676), or other members of Clark Hill’s International Trade Business Unit.
| Approximate Key Dates* | ||
| Antidumping Duty Investigation | ||
| Event | No. of Days | Date of Action |
| Petition Filed | 0 | 9/27/2023 |
| Initiation Date | 20 | 10/17/2023 |
| ITC Preliminary Investigations** | ||
| Questionnaires Due | 14 | 10/11/2023 |
| Request to appear at hearing | 18 | 10/16/2023 |
| Hearing | 21 | 10/18/2023 |
| Briefs | 26 | 10/23/2023 |
| ITC Vote | 43 | 11/9/2023 |
| ITC Preliminary Determination | 45 | 11/13/2023 |
| DOC Investigations | ||
| DOC Preliminary AD Determination | 160 | 3/5/2024 |
| DOC Final AD Determination | 235 | 5/20/2024 |
| ITC Final Investigations | ||
| ITC Final AD Determination | 280 | 7/3/2024 |
| DOC Final Investigations | ||
| DOC AD Publication of Order | 287 | 7/10/2024 |
| Countervailing Duty Investigation | ||
| Event | No. of Days | Date of Action |
| Petition Filed | 0 | 9/27/2023 |
| Initiation Date | 20 | 10/17/2023 |
| ITC Determination of Reasonable Indication of Injury | 45 | 11/13/2023 |
| DOC Preliminary CVD Determination | 85 | 12/21/2023 |
| Submission of factual information | 95 | 1/2/2024 |
| Request for a hearing | 122 | 1/29/2024 |
| Briefs | 142 | 2/16/2023 |
| DOC Final CVD Determination | 160 | 3/5/2024 |
| ITC Final CVD Determination | 205 | 4/19/2024 |
| DOC CVD Publication of Order | 212 | 4/26/2024 |
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