Spencer Griffith Discusses Imposition of Countervailing Duties Against Chinese Aluminum Imports with American Public Media

American Public Media’s Marketplace has interviewed Akin Gump international trade partner Spencer Griffith on the topic of antidumping/countervailing duties imposed against certain Chinese imports.

The program reports that the Commerce Department wants to put in place countervailing duties on imports of Chinese aluminum products that it says are being sold below fair market value. Unlike in most instances, however, the department has initiated the action on its own, rather than at the behest of an individual company or industry that complains about being unfairly undercut by a rival.

According to Griffith, initiating the case puts the United States in somewhat of an awkward position. “It kind of becomes almost a party to the case, a litigant, and that’s why it’s an unusual event,” he said.