{"id":26439,"date":"2024-05-23T11:15:15","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T18:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/?p=26439"},"modified":"2024-05-23T11:15:15","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T18:15:15","slug":"26439-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"
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U.S. tile manufacturers file anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions against India; one Indian supplier responds<\/h1>\n
May 23, 2024, from National Tile Contractors Association Newsletter<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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On Friday, April 19, the week\u00a0 before Coverings, the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) reported that U.S. ceramic tile manufacturers, representing over 90% of all U.S. ceramic tile manufacturing, had filed anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions with the federal government.<\/p>\n

The anti-dumping petition seeks the imposition of substantial tariffs on imports of ceramic tile from India to remedy unfairly low-priced imports that have injured domestic manufacturers and flooded the market with uncertified porcelain tile \u2013 between 408% to 828%. The countervailing duty (or anti-subsidy) petition seeks the imposition of additional tariffs to remedy the impact of numerous Indian government subsidies \u2013 subsidies that have further injured domestic manufacturers.<\/p>\n

In the announcement, TCNA Executive Director Eric Astrachan noted that American tile manufacturers have welcomed fair competition from imports. In fact, manufacturers from Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico and China have built factories in the U.S. to serve the North American market, fueled by local raw materials and an able workforce.<\/p>\n

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TCNA\u2019s Eric Astrachan discussing the Indian anti-dumping\/countervailing duty petitions during the TCNA press conference at Coverings in April.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHowever, Indian tile producers enjoy substantial government subsidies, which in conjunction with selling excess capacity at dumped prices, has allowed them to flood the U.S. market,\u201d Astrachan said. \u201cOver the last 10 years, sales of tile from India have increased from a mere 344,000 square feet in 2013 to nearly 405 million square feet by the end of 2023. Our domestic manufacturers had no alternative but to petition the federal government for relief from these unjust trading practices. The vitality of the U.S. industry and the livelihoods of thousands of employees and their families within our member companies depend on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barnes & Thornburg, trade counsel for the Coalition for Fair Trade in Ceramic Tile, said that the Federal Government will look into the allegations proposed by the petitions. If it finds that Indian imports are unfairly traded and have injured or threaten to injure U.S. tile manufacturers, the government will impose tariffs on Indian tile imports.\u00a0 The government would first impose preliminary tariffs in a few months and would impose final tariffs at the conclusion of its investigation in approximately 16 months, with the calculation of such final tariffs applied retroactively to the date of preliminary tariffs, and possibly to the date of initiation.<\/p>\n

Impact on Indian suppliers to North America<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the announcement of these petitions in the week preceding the Coverings show in Atlanta from April 22-25 caused a stir among Indian exhibitors and throughout the industry. During the show,\u00a0TileLetter\u00a0<\/em>spoke to one Indian manufacturer, TIEIC, established in 1987 with factories in Morbi, Gujarat from where it exports around the world. In 2022, TIEIC established an office in Langhorne, Pa., to serve its North American clients, and markets its products with a \u201cMade for the Americas\u201d slogan.<\/p>\n

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Mark Scher, Brand Manager for TIEIC, an Indian factory that markets to North America.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Mark Scher, Brand Manager for TIEIC, discussed the situation with\u00a0Tileletter\u00a0<\/em>and how his company is approaching this news. He said the anti-dumping situation was the first question that every customer in the U.S. and at the show was asking about. He said so much is still unknown, but several clients were still coming in and placing orders for distribution.<\/p>\n

Scher said, \u201cI am going to hold their orders and not produce until we have more information. Because at this point, all we have is hearsay. Until we have a preliminary decision from the government, we don\u2019t know anything and we do not want to bring our clients any financial harm. \u201c<\/p>\n

TIEIC\u2019s factory in India is \u201cColor Tile\u201d which cannot be used in this country due to the retailer who holds that trademark. Instead, the company markets as TIEIC, \u201cThe Indian Export Import Company.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWe have a U.S. office that is owned by the factory,\u201d\u00a0 Scher explained. \u201cSo we are in a different situation because we pay taxes to the U.S. Government and employ American citizens,\u00a0 which puts us at a little bit different level. We also knew at some point that this was going to come, as India is exploding in its industrial revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scher was candid about the practice of dumping in India, but was clear about distinguishing his factory from those engaging in alleged dumping practices. \u201cThere are definitely Indian manufacturers that are dumping material,\u201d he said, adding that people tell him the price they are getting for a product and if TIEIC can match it. \u201cThe answer for me is always no,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t sell products; we sell solutions, based on products. We do things that are more European designed and created more for the North American market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not leaving this market,\u201d he continued. Referencing Coverings, he added, \u201cAs a matter of fact, we are increasing our space 80% more for next year. We committed to that on the first day of Coverings. I think out of the 101 exhibitors that are here from India in quartz and stone and tile, maybe 10% will be back next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Three of TIEIC\u2019s products shown at Coverings: (l to r.) Stix, Limestone and Mystical<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Scher said \u201cColor Tile\u201d is one of the top five rated tile factories for quality in India, and focuses on manufacturing a premium product \u2013 and making it easy for North American customers to do business with them. \u201cWe have factory offices in Pennsylvania,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are open when our clients are open, not completely different time zones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to get better,\u201d he added. \u201cWe started four years ago in a 10 x 20 booth at Coverings and we keep increasing and\u00a0 increasing in size. This is the first time we have a real professionally-built booth. Next year, it will be better and better and better. Again, we are not giving up on this market. We have only just started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scher says TIEIC will get through the antidumping hurdle, and from personal opinion \u2014 and what he was hearing during the week at Coverings \u2014\u00a0 thinks the tariffs being sought are \u201cpie in the sky.\u201d\u00a0 But they will affect the importer of record.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tariff affects the importer of record, so it\u2019s our customers who are affected,\u201d he said. \u201cBut\u2026based on what we are told from our attorneys thus far, we may decide to become the importer of record. And if we do that, all of the fears of the tariffs that are coming will subside with the clients. At this point, I can\u2019t say that we will or we won\u2019t, but I can say it is definitely one of the things that is on the table. We also have to make sure we protect ourselves. It\u2019s a huge chance that you take to do that whether it\u2019s for a client or us. Nothing has been finalized since [the petition] has just been sent to the government and there\u2019s no preliminary anything. We expect to know by the beginning of June of the preliminary tariffs, and then we have to take it from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Two of TIEIC\u2019s wood look tiles shown at Coverings: (l to r) Vintage Dove 3D Carved and the glossy-finish Portland.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a letter sent to clients on Monday, April 29, Scher strongly assured, \u201cWE DO NOT DUMP!\u00a0 Some of the points of anti-dumping include if the factory is profitable as well as if the factory is selling exports for more than they sell in their own domestic market, and if the government heavily subsidizes the factories.\u00a0 In all of these main points we are not guilty at all.\u00a0 But since the petition is in place for ALL Indian manufacturers, then all are included in the initial investigation.\u201d He explained that TIEIC has consulted International Law Trade Attorneys in both India and the US to help the factory get the best result in the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur factory is not just willing to open the books for the investigation, but encourage this to happen quickly,\u201d the letter continued. \u201cWe have NOTHING to hide and want to get past this \u2018bump in the road\u2019 as swiftly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, Scher says TIEIC company sees the situation in a positive light.\u00a0 \u201cIt will weed out all the fears of why Americans are typically gun shy to start with India. This could be a blessing in disguise. The timing of it was not good, but it is what it is, and we will move forward once we know more.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Friday, April 19, the week before Coverings, the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) reported that U.S. ceramic tile manufacturers, representing over 90% of all U.S. ceramic tile manufacturing, had filed anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions with the federal government. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"xn-wppe-expiration":[],"xn-wppe-expiration-action":[],"xn-wppe-expiration-prefix":[],"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[62,302,25,294,58,24],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n- CTaSC.com<\/title>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"- CTaSC.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Friday, April 19, the week before Coverings, the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) reported that U.S. ceramic tile manufacturers, representing over 90% of all U.S. ceramic tile manufacturing, had filed anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions with the federal government.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CTaSC.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CeramicTileStoneConsult\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-23T18:15:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tileletter-media.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/07101843\/TCNA-TIEIC-logos-696x234.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"8 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/\",\"name\":\"CTaSC.com\",\"description\":\"Consulting Services For The Ceramic Tile And Stone Industry\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tileletter-media.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/07101843\/TCNA-TIEIC-logos-696x234.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/\",\"name\":\"- CTaSC.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-23T18:15:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-23T18:15:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/#\/schema\/person\/aa07d76c4955fe4b86f105b7f5fbc622\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/26439-2\/\",\"name\":\"- CTaSC.com\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/#\/schema\/person\/aa07d76c4955fe4b86f105b7f5fbc622\",\"name\":\"Donato Pompo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ctasc.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b25c5730c89e0c73f75709d8f1254337?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Donato Pompo\"},\"description\":\"Donato Pompo, CTC CMR CSI CDT MBA, is the leading tile and stone forensic expert and consultant in North America, and he is a National Tile Contractors Association Recognized Consultant. 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