Auburn Manufacturing wins anti-dumping claim against China

The U.S. International Trade Commission voted unanimously in favor of Auburn Manufacturing, ruling that Chinese manufacturers have sold an unfairly subsidized heat resistant fabric in the United States at less than fair value, putting the Auburn-based company at a competitive disadvantage.

With this decision, the U.S. Department of Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of the heat resistant fabric products by Chinese producers.

“Maine businesses and Maine workers can compete and win against anybody in the world — but the rules need to be fair,” said Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, and Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-District 1, and Bruce Poliquin, R-District 2, in a joint written statement announcing the ITC ruling. “After a long and hard-fought effort, we are tremendously pleased the ITC has [Wednesday] voted unanimously in favor of Auburn Manufacturing and to stand up for Maine jobs against illegal trade from China. This is welcome news for AMI, its workers, and for our great state of Maine.”

Led by owner Kathie Leonard, AMI has pushed back against the rise in unfairly traded imports of ASF, a heat-resistant material, from China. Last month, everyone in the Maine delegation gave testimony in support of AMI during an ITC hearing in Washington.

AMI is a small manufacturing producer with two locations in Auburn and Mechanic Falls. It employs 40 people and is a leading producer of high performance, heat-resistant fabrics and textiles.

The company first filed a petition with the ITC in January 2016. It has lost business and had to lay off workers as a result of illegally subsidized and dumped Chinese imports, according to the statement issued by the Maine congressional delegation.