ITC Finds that 400 Series Blend Components are Separate Products from Blended Refrigerants

In February 2018, the American HFC Coalition appealed the HFC anti-dumping case decision that HFC components for 400 series blends imported from China are separate products from the blends themselves and should not be subject to duties. The appeal was filed with the Circuit Court in New York, and the case was remanded to the International Trade Commission (ITC) for reconsideration as it relates to including duties on HFC Components (e.g. HFC-125) imported from China. May 2, the ITC responded to uphold the original ruling in the case, finding that the HFC components under review are a separate ‘like product’ from HFC blends. As a result, the ITC will not impose duties on refrigerant blend components imported from Chinese producers. The American HFC Coalition issued a press release May 9, strongly opposing the ITC’s decision to allow Chinese components to evade duties. The Coalition believes that the ITC’s decision is inconsistent with the facts and unsupported by the administrative record. The American HFC Coalition says it will “continue to oppose the ITC's refusal to correct its decision because imports of unfairly traded HFC components from China continue to increase.” The press release does not say how the Coalition will oppose ITC. Members of the HFC Coalition and non-member interested parties in the U.S. refrigerant market are calling for a fair and level playing field, where products are sold at fair market value. The Coalition finds the idea of job creation by increasing domestic blending of components to be hollow. “Few, if any, U.S. jobs are added by the relatively simple blending operations that are now routine in the United States,” reads the press release. “Chinese HFC producers are causing significant injuries to the U.S. HFC-blends industry by continuing to sell HFC blends in the U.S. market at prices that are substantially below fair market value. The only difference now is that the components are being imported in separate containers and blended after arrival in the United States. The press release states that “The Court will review the ITC's recent decision and decide whether to send it back again to the ITC for reconsideration. It is anticipated that the Court will rule on this latest decision by the ITC by the end of the year.