Canada takes antidumping steps against Mexican, Chinese blinds
The Canadian government has slapped duty penalties on wood Venetian blinds and slats from Mexico and China after a preliminary determination that Canadian producers were being harmed by imports dumped at below fair market prices.
The Canada Border Services Agency, previously known as the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, said it will assess provisional duty of 120 percent, the estimated margin of difference between the imported prices and normal Canadian export prices. The complaint was lodged by Canadian manufacturer Stores de bois Montreal Inc., which alleged that the dumping practices by foreign competitors have resulted in reduced market share, lost sales, and price declines.
The decision follows a preliminary ruling by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal in January that 'the evidence discloses a reasonable indication that the dumping of wood Venetian blinds and slats has caused injury to the domestic industry.'
The Tribunal will make a final determination after CBSA collects more information on the actual volumes of dumped goods and whether to classify blinds and slats as separate categories of goods.