Senco Welcomes Preliminary Decision by Commerce Department to Impose Duties Ranging From 12.38% Up To 156.99% On Chinese Collated Staple Imports

CINCINNATI, Nov. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- KYOCERA SENCO Industrial Tools, Inc. (Senco), the nation's largest staple manufacturer, today welcomes a preliminary decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to impose duties ranging from 12.38 percent up to 156.99 percent on all imports of medium and heavy collated steel staples from China.  In a notice released on November 5, DOC announced its affirmative preliminary determination that Chinese staple imports benefited from unlawful subsidies. The decision will result in duties on imports from China going back to mid-August. 

"This decision is good news for our company, our workers, and our industry and we couldn't be more pleased," said Cliff Mentrup, CEO of Senco. "We applaud the DOC for its hard work in this case, and for its continued commitment to addressing harmful unfair trade practices."

Last June, Senco filed petitions asking DOC and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to conduct both antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CVD) duty investigations into imports from China and two other countries. In its petitions, the company asked the DOC and the ITC to impose duties on all three countries to offset unfair pricing, and additional duties against Chinese imports to offset unfair subsidies. Both agencies have since moved swiftly: DOC initiated AD and CVD investigations on July 3.

This development comes on the heels of an expedited preliminary decision by DOC that retroactive imposition of duties was warranted, after finding circumstances including a 55% increase in imports in the three months immediately after these cases were filed as importers rushed in imports in an attempt to avoid duties.

A preliminary determination in the companion AD investigation will be released on January 3, 2020.

For more on the company's petitions, see the company's press release.
For more on the ITC's investigation, review the commission's press release.
For more on DOC's preliminary determination, review the agency's fact sheet here.

Contact Elizabeth Heaton, [email protected], 202-445-9858

SOURCE KYOCERA SENCO Industrial Tools, Inc.