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On November 21, 2024, Vitro Flat Glass, LLC and Vitro Meadville Flat Glass, LLC (“Vitro” or “Petitioner”), filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on U.S. imports of float glass products from China and Malaysia.

SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION

The following language describes the imported merchandise from China and Malaysia:

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 percent 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.

PETITIONERS

Vitro Flat Glass, LLC

400 Guys Run Road 

Cheswick, PA 15024 

Tel: 855-887-6457 

www.vitro.com

Javier Arechavaleta Santos 

General Counsel,

Vitro Group

Jarechavaleta@vitro.com

Vitro Meadville Flat Glass, LLC

5123 Victory Boulevard

Cochranton, PA 16314

Tel: 814-336-4411

www.vitro.com

Javier Arechavaleta Santos 

General Counsel,

Vitro Group

Jarechavaleta@vitro.com

COUNSEL FOR PETITIONERS

ROCK CREEK TRADE LLP

900 19th Street, NW, Suite 600

Washington, DC 20006

(202) 230-6630

NAMED PRODUCERS/EXPORTERS

For a list of foreign producers/exporters alleged by Petitioners, please see Attachment I.

NAMED IMPORTERS

For a list of importers alleged by the Petitioner, please see Attachment II.

ESTIMATED SCHEDULE

EventEarliest Date
Petition FiledNovember 21, 2024
DOC InitiationDecember 11, 2024
ITC Preliminary Investigation:
Questionnaires DueDecember 5, 2024
Request to appear at hearing                                     December 10, 2024
HearingDecember 12, 2024
BriefsDecember 17, 2024
ITC VoteJanuary 5, 2025
  
DOC Investigation Schedule: 
DOC Preliminary Antidumping DeterminationApril 30, 2025
DOC Final Antidumping DeterminationJuly 14, 2025
DOC Preliminary Countervailing DeterminationFebruary 14, 2025
DOC Final Countervailing DeterminationApril 30, 2025
  
ITC Final Investigation: 
ITC Final AD Determination                August 28, 2025
ITC Final CVD Determination              June 14, 2025

ALLEGED DUMPING MARGINS

China:             91.05 % – 165.11%

Malaysia:        141.87 % – 344.43%

ALLEGED COUNTERVAILING DUTY MARGINS

Above de minimis

Periods of Investigation:  For both China and Malaysia, the countervailing duty period of investigation will be January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023.

ALLEGED SUBSIDIES

For a list of alleged subsidies the Petitioner, please see Attachment III.

IMPORTS OF SUBJECT MERCHANDISE

 202120222023YTD – 2023 Jan-Sep.YTD – 2024 Jan-Sep
China     
Quantity (short tons)61,530108,098123,23291,035  100,633  
Malaysia     
Quantity (short tons)7,548  15,026  19,082  13,449  14,856  

CONTACT US For more information concerning this petition and how it may affect your business, please contact Nithya Nagarajan, Dan Wilson, Jeffrey Neeley, or Stephen Brophy.