For Immediate Release: August 31, 2006

FACT SHEET

Commerce Finds Unfair Dumping of Lined Paper Products from China

• On August 31, the Commerce Department announced its affirmative final determination in the antidumping duty investigation of lined paper products from China. Dumping is when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than fair market value ( which for companies in China is based on their production inputs valued at market-economy costs).

• Commerce determined that Chinese producers/exporters have sold lined paper products in the United States at 76.70 to 258.21 percent less than fair market value.

• If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues a final affirmative injury determination, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect a cash deposit based on the rates in this final determination.

• The petition for this investigation was filed by MeadWestvaco Corp. (Dayton, OH); Norcom, Inc. (Norcross, GA); and Top Flight, Inc. (Chattanooga, TN) (collectively, the Association of American School Paper Suppliers).

• Lined paper products are typically school supplies that feature straight horizontal and/or vertical lines on 10 or more paper sheets, including single- and multi-subject notebooks, composition books, wireless notebooks, loose-leaf or glued filler paper, graph paper, and laboratory notebooks. (HTSUS 4820.10.2050, 4810.22.5044, 4811.90.9090, 4820.10.2010, 4820.10.2020)

• From 2004 to 2005, imports of lined paper products from China increased 25 percent by volume and were valued at an estimated $345million in 2005.

NEXT STEPS

• The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is scheduled to make its final injury determination on or about September 13. Under the law, the ITC examines whether the U.S. industry is injured or threatened with injury by imports of the subject merchandise. If the ITC makes a negative final injury determination, the investigation will be terminated.

Final Rates:

EXPORTER	PRODUCER	DUMPING MARGIN
Shanghai Lian Li Paper Products Co., Ltd.	Shanghai Lian Li Paper Products Co., Ltd; Sentian Paper Products Co., Ltd.; Shanghai Miaopaofang Paper Products Co., Ltd.; Shanghai Pudong Wenbao Paper Products Co., Ltd.; Changsu Changjiang Printing Co., Ltd.; or Shanghai Loutang	94.98%
The Watanabe Group – Watanabe Paper Product (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.; Watanabe Paper Product (Linqing) Co., Ltd.; or Hotrock Stationary (Shenzen) Co.	The Watanabe Group – Watanabe Paper Product (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.; Watanabe Paper Product (Linqing) Co., Ltd.; or Hotrock Stationary (Shenzen) Co.	76.70%
Separate-Rate Respondents (see attachment)		78.39%
China-Wide Rate		258.21%

 

Case Calendar:

EVENT	DATE
Petition Filed	September 9, 2005
Investigation Initiated	September 29, 2005
DOC Preliminary Determination	April 7, 2006
DOC Final Determination	August 30, 2006
ITC Final Determination	September 13, 2006
Issuance of Order*	September 20, 2006

* This will take place only in the event of final affirmative determinations by both the DOC and the ITC.

Import Statistics:

CHINA	2003	2004	2005
Volume (units)	412,010,750	466,333,895	580,909,339
Value ($US)	243,301,602	274,320,805	344,647,519

Source: U.S. ITC DataWeb under HTSUS subheadings 4 820.10.2050, 4810.22.5044, 4811.90.9090, 4820.10.2010, and 4820.10.2020. Volumes in kgs. were converted into units by dividing by 0.491262, the per-unit weight of the most common filler paper product (150-count filler paper), as indicated by information contained in the petition.