Letter to the Hon. David Johanson, Chairman of the International Trade Commission - Spanberger Leads Bipartisan Letter in Support of American-Made Cabinets, Urges ITC to Address Allegations of Chinese Cabinet Dumping, Level the Playing Field for U.S. Companies & Workers

Letter

Dear Chairman Johanson,

As we enter into the final phase of the trade investigation into subsidized and dumped kitchen imports from China, we write to express our strong support for American wooden cabinet and vanity manufacturers and urge the International Trade Commission to carefully consider the facts presented by the domestic industry.

In its preliminary determination in April 2019, the International Trade Commission unanimously found that there was a reasonable indication that the U.S. cabinet manufacturing industry was suffering material injury due to Chinese imports.

As the Commission evaluates the evidence in the final phase of the investigation, we would like to highlight a few key points that make this case particularly important both to the American economy and to reinforcing the strength of U.S. trade remedy laws.

Since 2015, imports of Chinese kitchen cabinets have increased by more than 75 percent, as dumped and subsidized Chinese imports have taken substantial market share away from U.S. producers. The volume and share of Chinese kitchen cabinet imports is rapidly increasing and reached nearly $2 billion in 2018, making this one of the largest trade cases filed against one country in U.S. history.

The domestic cabinet and vanity industry represents more than 250,000 American jobs. For many small towns, the cabinet industry, including manufacturing and decorative laminate products, is the largest source of employment. When facilities are closed due to unfair trade practices, our communities and our workers suffer.

We appreciate the Commission's work to date on this important matter and urge the Commission to ensure U.S. trade remedy laws are fully enforced.