New Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions on Float Glass Products from China and Malaysia

Key Points

• Petitions were filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CVD) duties on imports of Float Glass Products from China and Malaysia.
• The petitioners are Vitro Flat Glass, LLC and Vitro Meadville Flat Glass, LLC. (Vitro). According to the petitions, “Vitro is the largest float glass producer in the United States with manufacturing operations in California, Pennsylvania, and Texas.”
• These petitions are the first directed at float glass imports into the United States. Float glass is flat, distortion-free glass that is commonly used in architectural, automotive and other transportation, electronics, furniture, and interior design applications.
• Under U.S. law, a domestic industry is entitled to petition the government to initiate an AD investigation into the pricing of an imported product to determine whether it is sold in the United States at less than fair value (i.e., “dumped”). A domestic industry may also petition the government to initiate a CVD investigation of alleged unfair subsidization of foreign producers and exporters by a foreign government. AD/CVD duties can be imposed if DOC determines that imported goods are “dumped” and/or unfairly subsidized, and if the ITC also determines that the domestic industry is materially injured or threatened with such injury by reason of subject imports.
• If the ITC and DOC make preliminary affirmative determinations, U.S. importers will be required to post cash deposits in the amounts of the AD and/or CVD duties for all entries as of the dates on which DOC’s preliminary determinations are published in the Federal Register. The preliminary AD/CVD rates can change in the final DOC determinations.

Scope

Petitioners have requested the following product scope for the investigations:

The scope of the petitions covers float glass products (FGP), which are articles of soda-lime-silica glass that are manufactured by floating a continuous strip of molten glass over a smooth bath of tin (or another liquid metal with a density greater than molten glass), cooling the glass in an annealing lehr, and cutting it to appropriate dimensions. For purposes of the petitions, float glass products have a nominal thickness of at least 2.0 mm (0.079 inches) and a nominal surface area of at least 0.37 square meters (4.0 square feet).

The country of origin of each float glass product is determined by the location where the soda-lime-silica glass is first manufactured by floating a continuous strip of molten glass over a smooth bath of tin and cooling the glass in an annealing lehr, regardless of the location of any downstream finishing or fabrication operations. Prior to being subjected to further treatment, finishing, or fabrication, float glass products meet the requirements of Type I under ASTM-C1036 of the American Society for Testing and Materials.

Float glass products may be clear, stained, tinted, or coated with one or more materials to affect heat insulation properties, electrical conductivity, sound reduction, strength, durability, color, and/or the transmission of light. Examples of coated float glass products include low emissivity (Low-E) architectural glass and frameless mirrors (i.e., flat glass with a silver, aluminum, or other reflective layer) such as mirror stock sheet.

Float glass products may be annealed, chemically strengthened, heat strengthened, or tempered to achieve a desired surface compression, pursuant to ASTM-C1048, ASTM-C1422/C1422M, or other similar specifications. Float glass products may be further worked, including but not limited to finishing operations such as sandblasting, etching, bending, curving, beveling, edging, notching, drilling, chipping, embossing, and engraving.

Float glass products may be unassembled or assembled. Examples of assembled float glass products include: (1) mirrors with one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) integrated with the mirror, as well as framed mirrors with one or more LEDs integrated with the mirror or the mirror frame; and (2) articles consisting of two of more sheets of glass that are bonded together using a polymer interlayer (i.e., laminated glass), as well as insulating glass units (IGUs), which consist of two or more sheets of glass separated by a spacer material and hermetically sealed together at the edge in order to create a thermal barrier using air or one or more gases.

The scope of the petitions covers, but is not limited to, glass articles meeting one or more of the ASTM-C162, ASTM-C1036, ASTM-C1048, ASTM-C1172, ASTM-C1349, ASTM-C1376, ASTM-C1422/C1422M, ASTM-C1464, ASTM- C1503, ASTM-C1651, ASTM-E1300, and ASTM-E2190 specifications, definitions, and/or standards.

Excluded from the scope are: (1) wired glass; (2) patterned flat glass meeting the requirements of Type II under ASTM-C1036, including greenhouse glass and patterned solar glass; (3) safety glazing materials for vehicles certified to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard Z26.1; (4) vacuum insulating glass (VIG) units, which consist of two or more sheets of glass separated by a spacer material, with at least one hermetically sealed compartment that uses a gas-free vacuum as a thermal barrier; (5) framed mirrors without any LEDs integrated with the mirror or the mirror frame; (6) unframed “over-the-door” mirrors that are ready for use as imported without undergoing after importation any processing, finishing, or fabrication; and (7) strengthened or tempered flat glass specially designed for use in home appliances, including refrigerator shelves, washer door lids, microwave doors, and oven doors.

Also excluded from the scope of the petitions are: (1) soda-lime-silica glass containing less than 0.01% iron oxide by weight, annealed with a surface compression less than 3,500 pounds per square inch (PSI), having a transparent conductive oxide base coating (e.g., tin oxide), and with a nominal thickness less than or equal to 4.0 mm (0.1575 inches) (i.e., “coated solar glass”); and (2) heat treated soda-lime-silica glass with a surface compression between 3,500 and 10,000 PSI, containing two or more drilled holes, and having a nominal thickness less than 2.5 mm (0.098 inches) (i.e., “clear back solar glass”).

The products subject to the petitions are currently classifiable under subheadings 7005.10.8000, 7005.21.1010, 7005.21.1030, 7005.21.2000, 7005.29.1810, 7005.29.1850, 7005.29.2500, 7007.29.0000, 7008.00.0000, 7009.91.5010, 7009.91.5095, and 7009.92.5010 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Products subject to the petitions may also enter under HTSUS subheadings 7006.00.4010, 7006.00.4050, and 7007.19.0000. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of the petitions is dispositive.

Foreign Producers and Exporters of Subject Merchandise

A list of foreign producers and exporters of float glass products, as identified in the petitions, is provided in Attachment 1.

U.S. Importers of Subject Merchandise

A list of U.S. importers of float glass products, as identified in the petitions, is provided in Attachment 2.

Alleged Margins of Dumping/Subsidization

Petitioner alleges the following dumping margins in the petitions:

China: 91.05% - 165.11%

Malaysia: 141.87% - 344.43%

DOC generally assigns duties at these alleged dumping rates to exporters that fail to cooperate with the AD investigation.

No specific subsidy rates are included in the petitions.

Potential Trade Impact

According to official U.S. import statistics, imports of the subject merchandise totaled around $75 million and 142,314 short tons were imported into the United States from China and Malaysia in 2023.

Estimated Schedule of Investigations