New AD/CVD Petition: Power Washers from China and Vietnam

On December 29, 2022, FNA Group Inc., from Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions against U.S. imports of certain gas powered pressure washers (“power washers”) from China and Vietnam.

These pressure washers are the latest gas powered equipment to be targeted for AD and CVD duties. In 2020, Briggs & Stratton filed AD/CVD cases on large and small gas vertical shaft engines. Soon thereafter, U.S. producers of lawn could no longer afford to import Chinese engines or get enough engines from Briggs & Stratton. Facing their own import competition, they then filed their own AD/CVD against imports of lawn mowers and snow blowers primarily from China. After very high AD/CVD duties were imposed in these cases, the volume of imports from China dropped significantly. It is not surprising to see domestic producers in other gas powered products wanting to try to get similar AD/CVD duties to protect themselves from their own Chinese import competition.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) and U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) will conduct investigations to further examine the allegations made in the petition. DOC will investigate whether the named subject imports are being sold to the United States at less than fair value (“dumping”) or benefit from unfair government subsidies. ITC will investigate whether the subject imports are causing “material injury” or “threat of material injury” to the domestic industry.

Scope of Petition

The petition proposes the scope of the merchandise to be covered by these AD/CVD investigations as “cold water gas powered pressure washers (also commonly known as power washers), which are machines that clean surfaces using water pressure that are powered by an internal combustion engine, air-cooled with a power take-off shaft, in combination with a positive displacement pump.”

See the full proposed scope definition for a complete description of the physical characteristics of the covered and excluded merchandise, and the HTS numbers that may be used to import the subject merchandise.

Alleged AD/CVD Margins

Petitioner provided estimated dumping margin of 136.70% to 242.34% (avg. 179.88%) for Chinese power washers, 120.50% to 227.88% for Indian folders, 103.28% to 209.22% (avg. 145.30%) for Vietnamese power washers .

Although Petitioner alleged numerous government subsidy programs that benefitted the Chinese power washer industries, Petitioner did not allege any specific subsidy rates.