Posted By: Christina Herrick | January 12, 2016 in GrowingProduce.com
The Secretariat of Economy (SE) in Mexico published the results of a preliminary antidumping investigation against imported apples from the U.S. As a result of this resolution, the Mexican government is requiring provisional duty payments.
The Regional Fruit Producers Association from the State of Chihuahua (UNIFRUT) requested an antidumping investigation against the producers and exporters of apples from the U.S., because they believed U.S. apples were sold in Mexico for less than fair value to the detriment of growers in Chihuahua. The petition was delivered to the SE on Aug. 14, 2014. On Dec. 4, 2014, the Mexican government announced it would begin an antidumping investigation on imports of apples from the U.S.
In the official notice, the SE stated there is sufficient evidence to support the claim that imported of apples from the U.S. were sold at discriminatory prices in Mexico.
The investigation resolution states
- Imports of apples from the U.S. were made with dumping margins of up to 20.82% during the period of investigation. Such imports represented 98% of total imports.
- The imports investigated registered growth both in absolute terms and relative to the market size and domestic production over the period analyzed. This resulted in the displacement of domestic sales and a larger share of U.S. imports in the Mexican market.
- The prices of the imports investigated decreased during the investigation period and were lower than the average price of domestic sales in the months previous to the harvest during the period investigated.
- Imports of apples caused the deterioration of relevant indicators of the Mexican apple industry, production in the period analyzed and in the period investigated. The share of domestic sales and production in the Mexican market, the income from total sales and the domestic market, as well as gross profits and gross operating margin were impacted.
The projections provided by UNIFRUT to support the analysis of threat of injury are based on a reasonable methodology and historical figures for both imports and economic and financial indicators of the domestic industry, and allows the SE to observe a probability that in case no antidumping duties were imposed, an increase of imports would aggravate the injury to the domestic industry.
U.S. exports are several times the size of the domestic Mexican market, and U.S. apple exports to the Mexican market were increasing in absolute and relative terms, and were made at low prices.
According to the SE, although there could be other factors causing injury to the domestic industry besides the imports under investigation, the presence and behavior of the imports with price discrimination, and prices at which imports were made, had a direct impact on the performance of various indicators of the domestic producers.
Due to the large number of U.S. producers/exporters of apples to Mexico, SE limited its examination in the antidumping investigation to the 11 largest U.S. producers/exporters of apples during the period of investigation. The SE decided to impose the following preliminary antidumping duties:
- Broetje: 17.22 %
- Chiawana: 8.27%
- CPC: none
- Custom Apple: 5.55%
- Evans: 2.44%
- Gilbert: 7.39%
- Monson: none
- Northern Fruit: 9.45%
- Stemilt: 10.14%
- Washington Fruit: none
- Zirkle: 20.82%
- Producers/exporters not part of the sample: 7.55%
- All others: 20.82%
Preliminary antidumping duties started collection on Jan. 7, and will remain in force until a final determination is reached. Preliminary duties may be paid or guaranteed subject to a final determination. According to SE, interested parties may file written comments on this preliminary determination within 20 business days of its issuance directly to Mexico’s investigating authority.
