Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) announced its preliminary finding that Chinese producers have sold low-speed personal transportation vehicles (LSPTVs) into the United States at less than fair value, violating U.S. international trade laws. Commerce calculated affirmative antidumping duties ranging from 127.35% to 478.09%. The American Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Coalition (Coalition) – a coalition of leading U.S. producers of LSPTVs, namely Club Car LLC and Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., which manufacture E-Z-GO® and Cushman® vehicles – commends Commerce for its hard work on this investigation and for the agency’s decision to impose these duties, which are vital for the domestic industry and its workers.
Today’s determination establishes the preliminary duty margins in the dumping portion of this investigation. Following the publication of Commerce’s preliminary determination in the Federal Register in approximately one week, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Customs) to begin suspending liquidation and collecting preliminary antidumping duties (in the form of cash deposits) on entries of LSPTVs from China. These duties will be added to the preliminary subsidy duties already in place on Chinese imports, which range from 22% to 515%.
This is a preliminary determination only, and dumping margins may increase when Commerce reaches it final determination. Commerce’s final antidumping duty determination will be aligned with the agency’s final countervailing duty determination, which is expected to be issued in June 2025.
“The U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision further levels the playing field for American manufacturers and ultimately our customers,” said Mark Wagner, President and CEO of Club Car LLC. “This action is a win for our hardworking employees and helps return fairness to our industry.”
“We appreciate the findings of the U.S. Department of Commerce and its actions to help protect our U.S.
manufacturers,” said Rob Scholl, President and CEO of Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. “We are committed to investing in American manufacturing and to our workforce of dedicated employees at our facilities in Augusta, Ga. and across the country. The actions announced today will help safeguard those workers from the impacts of the unfair trade practices of state-subsidized Chinese producers.”
“Today’s preliminary finding of unfair and illegal dumping by Chinese producers is another key step in
remedying the significant harm these companies have caused the U.S. industry,” said Robert E. DeFrancesco, trade counsel to the Coalition and a partner in the International Trade Practice at Wiley. “The level of dumping shown by this determination demonstrates that Chinese producers are not competing fairly in the U.S. market, and Commerce’s imposition of these duties will allow domestic manufacturers to compete on a more level playing field.”
The duties that will be imposed following today’s determination are assessed on the importer of record of the subject merchandise. Duty evasion, absorption, and circumvention are illegal and closely monitored by Customs, in conjunction with Commerce.