On June 9, 2017, the United States International Trade Commission (“US ITC”) voted on and made affirmative preliminary determinations in its preliminary injury phase antidumping and countervailing duty investigations concerning 100- to 150-Seat Large Civil Aircraft from Canada. Reasons may not be available for a few weeks to a month. The US ITC often issues affirmative preliminary injury determinations since the “reasonable indication” threshold is a low threshold for complaining companies to initially meet.
In April, Boeing, filed a petition with the US ITC asking it to consider anti-dumping and countervailing duties against Bombardier’s CSeries passenger aircraft. Boeing has requested that the U.S. Department of Commerce impose countervailing duties of 79.41 per cent and anti-dumping duties of 79.82 per cent.
The US ITC determinations are important because Canada and Bombardier were not able to end this ill-advised case prior to the imposition of antidumping and/or countervailing duties. Preliminary antidumping and/or countervailing duties will be imposed if the U.S. Department of Commerce makes affirmative preliminary antidumping and or subsidy determinations in the coming weeks. It is anticipated that the U.S. Department of Commerce will issue affirmative preliminary determinations in order to have “leverage” in the NAFTA renegotiations. While trade remedies are not supposed to be influenced by political considerations, have you every heard of “Softwood Lumber”?