The European Commission in a Sept. 30 notice announced the impending expiration of antidumping duties on melamine from China, unless a review of the duties is initiated. European Union manufacturers can submit a written request for a review up to three months before the July 2, 2022, expiration date.

Finance Committee member Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, bemoaned the fact that the House did not vote on a short-term extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance already passed by the Senate, and told his committee's chairman and top Republican that he would like to be part of bipartisan negotiations to get TAA moving, paired with other trade priorities. Portman, in a letter Sept. 28, also said he worries that passing TAA as part of the Democratic-only soft infrastructure package means the broader trade agenda will be neglected. "As policymakers, I believe we can take steps to support American manufacturing and avoid the root causes for TAA," he said, and argued that renewing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill and Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, and strengthening antidumping and countervailing duty laws would help.

The World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body established a panel to address Japan's concerns over China's antidumping duties on stainless steel products, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Sept. 28. Japan requested the panel in August. China's antidumping duties began in July 2019 on stainless steel goods from Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and the European Union. Japan said the duties violate the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (the WTO Anti-dumping Agreement) “due to flaws in the Chinese authorities' determination and its investigation procedures.”

The European Commission initiated an antidumping investigation into electrolytic chromium coated steel products from China and Brazil, it said in a Sept. 24 notice. Acting on a complaint from the European Steel Association, the commission will look into whether “flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, plated or coated with chromium oxides or with chromium and chromium oxides” are being sold at less than fair value and thereby harming the domestic industry. Comments on the product scope will be accepted by Oct. 4. The period under review is July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021.

Argentina and Peru recently made antidumping duty decisions on products from China, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Sept. 24.

Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade will open an investigation into evasion of trade remedies for sugar products from Thailand, the state-run CustomsNews said, after receiving a petition from the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association and other domestic cane sugar refineries. The petition claims Thai producers are skirting antidumping and anti-subsidy duties on the subject merchandise by importing it through Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. The relevant AD and anti-subsidy duties were imposed on June 15.

The World Trade Organization circulated the agenda for the Sept. 27 meeting of the dispute settlement body, which includes a briefing on the implementation status of the dispute resolutions for the U.S.'s antidumping duties on hot-rolled steel products from Japan, Section 110(5) of the U.S. Copyright Act, the U.S.'s antidumping and countervailing duties on large residential washers from South Korea, and certain methodologies and their application to antidumping proceedings involving China. The DSB will also hear about the U.S.'s Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000, and will receive a statement from the U.S. about the European Union's measures affecting trade in large civil aircraft. China will also issue a statement regarding the panel report in the dispute over the U.S.'s safeguard measures on solar panel imports.

Argentina and Canada recently took antidumping and countervailing duty actions on products from China, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Sept. 21. Argentina renewed its antidumping duty order on certain ceramic and porcelain tableware from China, which will continue to be subject to a duty of $3.71/kg. Canada is seeking comments by Oct. 12 on whether it should begin an expiry review of antidumping and countervailing duty orders on certain Chinese “solder joint pressure pipe fittings and solder joint drainage, waste and vent pipe fittings,” HKTDC said.

The European Commission commenced, on its own initiative, a partial interim review of the countervailing duties on imports of rainbow trout from Turkey, it said Sept. 20. The commission is reviewing product described as “rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) live weighing 1, 2 kg or less each; or fresh, chilled, frozen and/or smoked: in the form of whole fish (with heads on), whether or not gilled, whether or not gutted, weighing 1,2 kg or less each; or with heads off, whether or not gilled, whether or not gutted, weighing 1 kg or less each; or in the form of fillets weighing 400 g or less each originating in the Republic of Turkey.” The commission said it is conducting the review because “there is sufficient evidence” that the circumstances with regard to subsidization “on the basis of which the existing measures were imposed have changed and that these changes are of a lasting nature.” The Turkish government enacted these changes in 2016, specifically making "significant changes on the structure and the terms of implementation of the subsidies granted by the Turkish Government to producers of rainbow trout." Those changes "led to a decrease of direct subsidies received by Turkish rainbow trout producers," the notice said.

An antidumping duty on stainless steel cold-rolled flat products from China and Taiwan will be imposed, following an expiry review of the original duty order, the European Commission said in a Sept. 15 implementing regulation. The European Steel Association requested the review in May 2020, representing more than 25% of the total EU production of the subject merchandise. The dumping order specifically covers “flat-rolled products of stainless steel, not further worked than cold-rolled (cold-reduced).”