Chinese organize to fight antidumping move
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, August 11, 2003
Dong Guan City, China — Chinese furniture manufacturers, silent till now on an antidumping petition campaign by a group of U.S. companies, have spent the past couple of weeks organizing to fight their side of the battle.
In late July, more than 100 Chinese producers gathered here to begin formulating a response to the American Furniture Manufacturers Committee for Legal Trade, the recently formed group that plans to file a petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce and International Trade Division alleging that Chinese plants are dumping — selling below cost in an export market — wood bedroom furniture in the United States.
Mohamad Amini, vice president of Chinese case goods manufacturer Lacquer Craft and a leader in organizing the response here, said the antidumping petition has galvanized manufacturers with operations in mainland China. He said the group, which includes members of the Taiwanese, Hong Kong and Chinese furniture manufacturing associations, soon will announce an official committee and legal representation to fight their case before Commerce and ITD.
"Everyone with operations here has come together in one voice," Amini said. "We've put together a very strong coalition."
Between 50 and 75 companies are now contributing financially to the legal effort, he said, including "all the major players." He didn't say how much had been raised to date, but said the effort will be funded the same way U.S. participants are supporting their petition case, with each manufacturer paying according to its proportion of sales.
In addition, the Chinese group includes some companies that make categories besides bedroom. The U.S. group has made it clear that a successful bedroom petition could lead them to pursue other categories as well.
"We'll retain a first-tier attorney," said Amini. He said the mood among Chinese manufacturers is bitter.
"They are angry about the fact that some of their U.S. customers are playing both sides of the fence," he said. "Some of the same companies on this petition are the ones who've been pressuring plants here to give them a lower price, more value. Now they're calling it dumping."
While each manufacturer in China will make its own decisions about who it sells to, Amini said there could be fallout down the road for U.S. petitioners who also import.
"I'll say for the record that Lacquer Craft, for one, will cease business activities with any company that's joining the petition," he said.
Manufacturers here are confident that they'll win when their case is heard, he said.
"The worry is that everyone has to spend time looking into the issue instead of concentrating on business," Amini said. "There is no dumping going on. The businesses here are profitable."
Chinese plants, he noted, import most of their raw materials, "over 50% of our product costs, and most of that from the United States."
Even if they receive a favorable ruling on the petition, U.S. manufacturers don't have a lot to gain, Amini said.
"There are other countries coming on with even lower costs than China," he said. "Are they going to chase everyone and call it dumping? Even if they win, production is going to stay here.
"I think the American manufacturers are trying to take advantage of a political situation regarding the overall trade balance with China," he said.
