Washington, April 14 - Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, and Tate & Lyle Americas filed petitions today with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), alleging that imports of citric acid and certain citrate salts from Canada and China are being sold at less than fair value, unfairly damaging the U.S. industry. The petitions ask the government to impose antidumping and countervailing duties against imports from China and antidumping duties against imports from Canada.
Citric acid is used in a broad array of applications, including foods and beverages (primarily as an acidulant, preservative and flavor enhancer), pharmaceuticals, household detergents and cosmetics. Also included in the petition are certain citrate salts -- including sodium citrate, potassium citrate, and unrefined calcium citrate.
The Commerce Department has 20 days to review the petitions and start an investigation. The USITC has 45 days to determine whether there is a reasonable indication that imports from Canada and China are causing or threatening to cause material injury to the U.S. industry. If the USITC determination is affirmative, the investigation will continue, and the Commerce Department will issue preliminary determinations regarding the degree of dumping and subsidies in three to five months.
The petition asks the government to impose tariffs of about 65 percent for Canada and 188 percent for China, based on the amount it's believed their products are being sold in the United States at dumped prices. The petition also alleges substantial countervailable subsidies on imports from China. If these margins and subsidies are confirmed, duties would be imposed on the imports at the time of entry into the United States. Such measures would enable the domestic industry to compete with imports on a level playing field.