The U.S. Department of Commerce has determined that China has engaged in unfair trade practices that negatively impacted Auburn Manufacturing Inc. and has instructed U.S. Customs officials to collect cash deposits from the Chinese producers named in the investigation as payment for estimated duties they owe on heat-resistant materials similar to those made by AMI.
Thursday’s announcement came a day after the Maine congressional delegation testified before the U.S. International Trade Commission in support of Auburn Manufacturing’s contention that competing Chinese producers of a heat-resistant fabric known as industrial-grade amorphous silica fabric were subsidized and sold their product in the United States at less than fair value.
The Department of Commerce agreed and in its Jan. 18 ruling instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from the Chinese producers named in the investigation as payment for the estimated duties they owe on the merchandise that has entered this country.
A joint statement by Maine’s congressional delegation said the Commerce Department’s action would “re-level the playing field for AMI and other American companies that produce industrial grade ASF textiles.”
“We welcome this ruling as a significant victory for AMI, its employees and for Maine, and we will continue to do all that we can to ensure that there is a level playing field for Maine manufacturers,” Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin said in their joint statement.
Led by owner Kathie Leonard, AMI is a small, woman-owned 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, stating it had lost business and had to lay off workers as a result of what the Commerce Department now agrees were illegally subsidized and dumped Chinese imports.
