Four polypropylene (PP) corrugated box producers from the US have filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions, alleging that imports from China and Vietnam are being traded unfairly.
The companies, comprising CoolSeal USA, Inteplast Group, SeaCa Plastic Packaging, and Technology Container, said that these imports are causing material injury and pose a threat to the domestic packaging industry.
The antidumping case claims that producers in China and Vietnam have engaged in unfair price discrimination within the US market.
Additionally, the petitioners have filed a countervailing duty petition, alleging that the Chinese government has provided actionable subsidies to local producers of PP corrugated boxes.
The petitions were submitted concurrently to the US Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission, which will analyse the requests for relief and issue preliminary and final determinations over the next 12 to 13 months.
The total volume of imports from these countries is said to have increased by nearly five times between 2022 and 2024.
The petitioners claim that Chinese and Vietnamese producers have ample capacity to manufacture PP corrugated boxes, and if unchecked, this capacity will expand, further affecting the US market.
Antidumping duties are designed to counteract the sale of products at less than fair value, or ‘dumped’, in the US market.
The Commerce Department determines the margin of dumping and collects estimated duties from importers at the time of importation.
Final decisions on dumping, subsidisation, and injury are likely in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026.
The petitions cover all imports of PP corrugated boxes, totes, or containers from China and Vietnam, regardless of handles, lids, tops, reinforcing wire, or configuration.
Kelley Drye & Warren partner John Herrmann said: “Surging imports of unfairly low-priced polypropylene corrugated boxes from China and Vietnam have placed significant pricing pressure on the US market and caused severe injury to the domestic industry.
“The domestic industry looks forward to the opportunity to present its case to the Commerce Department and the US International Trade Commission to obtain relief from unfairly traded imports and to restore fair competition in the US market.”
Kelley Drye & Warren serves as the petitioners’ trade counsel.
