U.S. Customs and Border Protection has uncovered a scheme to evade tariffs and dumping laws regarding quartz surface products from Mainland China. Simpli Home Ltd. is alleged to have evaded existing tariffs on quartz surface products. By importing bathroom vanities from Vietnam that incorporate quartz surface products from China, Simpli Home Ltd. attempted to evade existing antidumping and countervailing duties (“AD/CVD”) and endangered thousands of American jobs. “We hope that the entire quartz surface industry understands by now that this illegal evasion of the antidumping and countervailing duties on quartz surface products will not be tolerated,” said Marty Davis, President and CEO of Cambria Company LLC, the largest U.S. producer of quartz surface products. “We have to stand up for the rights of American producers and American workers to receive relief from illegally traded imports so that our industry can continue to grow and prosper. We deeply appreciate Customs taking this enforcement action to ensure that Americans are able to compete on a fair and equal playing field. At the same time, we will continue our efforts to root out illegal evasion activity and work with Customs so that it can take additional enforcement action as necessary.”
In April 2018, Cambria initiated a case before the Department of Commerce and the United States International Trade Commission alleging unfair trading of quartz surface products from China. At that time, dumped and subsidized Chinese quartz imports harmed American industry and workers by displacing over $1 billion per year of domestic product. Cambria’s successful petition resulted in U.S. Customs levying duties of up to 500% to halt the import of unfairly traded Chinese quartz into the U.S. marketplace.
While the AD/CVD duties have provided tremendous relief to Cambria and other U.S. producers, Cambria has continued the battle against dishonest firms who prioritize profits over American workers by concealing the true origin of their products. Customs’ announcement confirms that quartz surface products made in China remain subject to the payment of AD/CVD duties, even when they undergo further processing in a third country. Cambria continues to work with Customs to identify and hold responsible any foreign exporters and U.S. importers that are evading the AD/CVD duties through this or any other evasion scheme.
JEFFREY NEWMAN OF Jeff Newman Law REPRESENTS WHISTLEBLOWERS WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING IN CASES INVOLVING TARIFF EVASION AND FRAUD FOR PRODUCTS IMPORTED HERE FROM CHINA. HE CAN BE REACHED AT jeff@jeffnewmanlaw.com OR AT 978-880-4758.
