The US Department of Commerce (DOC) today announced its final determination in its antidumping duty investigation of mattresses from China. In that determination, DOC found that mattresses imported from China are being sold in the United States at dumped prices. DOC adjusted some of the dumping rates that it set in its preliminary antidumping determination. Specifically, DOC assigned dumping rates of 57.03% to Healthcare Co., Ltd. and 192.04% to Zinus (Xiamen) Inc., which were the mandatory respondents in this case. DOC also assigned a dumping rate of 162.76% to other Chinese exporters that DOC found were eligible for a separate rate. Finally, DOC assigned a China-wide rate of 1731.75 percent for all other producers and exporters that did not cooperate in the investigation. (We note that the “China-wide” rate in this case is the highest dumping rate that DOC has ever announced in an antidumping investigation.)

The differences between the preliminary and final determinations are summarized in the following chart:

Once these final rates are published in the Federal Register (which will take approximately 5 business days or longer), DOC will instruct US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect on future entries of mattresses from China cash deposits of antidumping duties equal to the dumping rates that apply to the relevant companies.

In addition, DOC found that “critical circumstances” do not exist with respect to imports of mattresses from China for mandatory respondents Healthcare Co., Ltd. and Zinus (Xiamen) Inc., but that “critical circumstances” do exist with respect to all non-individually-examined companies receiving a separate rate and companies subject to the China-wide entity. Consequently, DOC has instructed CBP to continue to impose antidumping duties retroactively on entries of mattresses from China from companies subject to the critical circumstances finding, effective March 6, 2019, which was 90 days prior to publication of DOC’s preliminary determination in the Federal Register.

The antidumping investigation of mattresses from China began last fall when 9 US mattress producers filed a petition with DOC and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that mattresses from China were being sold in the United States at dumped prices and that those imports were causing material injury to the US mattress industry.

Now that DOC has issued its final determination finding that mattresses from China are being dumped in the US market, the ITC will complete its final investigation into whether the US industry has been materially injured or threatened with material injury by such imports. The ITC held a public hearing in that investigation on October 11, and is expected to announce its final determination on or about December 2, 2019. If the ITC finds that mattresses imported from China are materially injuring, or are threatening material injury to, the US mattress industry, DOC will issue an antidumping duty order on mattresses from China. If the ITC finds no injury or threat of injury, the investigation will be terminated.