The US Chassis Manufacturers Coalition filed petitions earlier this week alleging traded imports of chassis from Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam threaten the American chassis industry.
The petitions demonstrate that chassis producers in each country sell chassis in the US at less than fair value. The petitioners request that antidumping duties be imposed to offset this dumping, at rates of 32.37 per cent from Mexico, 234.06 per cent from Thailand and 304.68 per cent from Vietnam.
The petitions also show that producers in Mexico and Thailand receive an unfair benefit from numerous countervailable subsidies, which, depending on the country, may include tax exemptions and/or incentives, duty exemptions, preferential lending, grant programs, state-level investment programs and other support.
There is also evidence, according to the coalition, that the government of the People’s Republic of China has provided cross-border subsidies that benefit chassis manufacturers in Mexico and Thailand.
In 2020, successful trade cases were filed against CIMC. Since then, CIMC relocated its US-dedicated production to Thailand and again shipped large volumes of chassis to the US.
CIMC, along with producers in Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam, used ‘unfair’ prices to gain significant US market share at the direct expense of the recovering US industry. As a result of the decreasing volumes caused by unfairly traded imports, US producers have reportedly suffered significant declines in production, shipments, profits and employment.
“The US chassis industry suffered years of injury at the hands of unfairly traded Chinese chassis,” said Robert E. DeFrancesco, partner in Wiley’s International Trade Practice and counsel to petitioners.
“After having successfully achieved relief, the US industry saw a second surge of unfair imports from new sources.
“While the sources of dumped and subsidised imports have shifted, they still have the same effect: taking domestic market share and eroding a proud American manufacturing industry.
“The US industry has experienced substantial injury by these new sources of subject imports.
“It is imperative that Commerce and the USITC apply our long-standing trade laws to remedy these unfair trade practices.”
CIE Manufacturing Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Ben Evans, became aware of the recent petitions on 25 February 2025.
He said this action threatens to significantly impact the availability of quality intermodal equipment in the US market.
“It’s disappointing that a small group of companies can continuously weaponise trade regulations for their personal gain, at the expense of the industry as a whole,” said Evans.
“While these companies will endlessly position the original AD/CVD ruling as a ‘win’ – most will recognise that it was only a win for a few and certainly not for the industry overall as it resulted a ~75 per cent increase in chassis pricing and a lack of available capacity to meet market demand.”
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