US postpones preliminary ruling on China rubber chemical imports

Washington, DC – The US Department of Commerce has postponed a preliminary determination on countervailing duties covering imports of rubber chemical N-Cyclohexylbenzothiazole-2-Sulfenamide (CBS) from China.

The probe was launched in early June upon a petition by Lanxess Corp and was accompanied by a separate petition seeking anti-dumping duties on the same product. (ERJ report)

In an 8 July notice, the International Trade Administration (ITA) said it was legally required to issue a preliminary determination within 65 days of the initiation of the investigation, unless the petitioner made a ‘timely request’.

According to ITA, Lanxess requested an extension of the probe “to ensure that Commerce has sufficient time to issue supplemental questionnaires and to evaluate all relevant subsidy programmes before reaching a preliminary determination.”

As a result, the deadline for the preliminary determination has been moved to 130 days after the start of the probe, or 5 Oct.

The extension will not affect the ongoing anti-dumping probe, the preliminary determination for which is expected in mid-October.