The Commerce Department published notices in the April 11 Federal Register on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
Global PC shipments fell 1.7 percent in Q1 from a year ago to 76.6 million units, said research company Gartner, citing preliminary data. The “severity” of the PC shipment decline “eased” compared to the past seven quarters, it said. One major factor that helped was Microsoft ending its support for the Windows XP operating system Tuesday, said Mikako Kitagawa, Gartner principal analyst, in a news release. There was a positive effect in all regions from the winding down of XP support, she said. Professional desktops especially showed strength in Q1, she said. Among key countries, Japan was particularly helped by the end of XP support, with a 35 percent year-over-year increase in PC shipments, she said. The impact of XP “migration” will continue throughout 2014 globally, she predicted. The PC market “remains weak,” but it’s “showing signs of improvement” compared to last year, she said. The PC professional market improved in regions including Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), while there was a “gradual recovery” of PC spending in the U.S. as tablet cannibalization “faded,” she said. The PC market continued to be tough for many manufacturers, said Gartner. But Acer was the only one of the top five vendors that didn’t have year-over-year shipment growth in Q1, said Gartner. Lenovo had the strongest growth among the top five vendors, its shipments growing 10.9 percent to 12.9 million units. That allowed it to move up from No. 2 in Q1 last year to become the market share leader in Q1 this year, with a 16.9 percent share, said Gartner. Lenovo’s shipments grew in all regions except Asia-Pacific, where growth in China has been difficult, said Gartner. The China market again slowed, due in part to the long holiday in the middle of Q1, it said. Hewlett-Packard’s shipments grew 4.1 percent to 12.2 million and its share grew to 16 percent from 15.1 percent, despite it falling behind Lenovo. Dell shipments grew 9 percent to 9.5 million, and its share grew to 12.5 percent from 11.2 percent, said Gartner. Asus shipments grew 4.8 percent to 5.3 million, and its share grew to 6.9 percent from 6.4 percent. Acer shipments tumbled 14.8 percent to 5.6 million, and its share dipped to 7.3 percent from 8.4 percent. In the U.S. market, PC shipments totaled 14.1 million units in Q1, a 2.1 percent increase from last year. HP remained No. 1 in the U.S., with 25 percent of PC shipments. Lenovo had the strongest growth among the top five PC makers in the U.S., at 16.8 percent, followed by Dell with 13.2 percent, said Gartner. The U.S. PC market has become “highly saturated” with devices because 99 percent of households there own one or more desktops or laptops, and more than half of them own both, said Kitagawa. Although tablet penetration is expected to reach 50 percent in 2014, some consumer spending could return to PCs, she said. The EMEA PC market had positive growth after eight quarters of decline, shipments inching up to 22.9 million units in Q1, said Gartner. The growth was helped by a PC “refresh” in the professional market from the “XP effect” and a general increase in spending, it said. HP remained the top PC vendor in EMEA, its shipments growing 15.3 percent in Q1. It was the seventh-straight quarter of strong growth for Lenovo, and that helped it “cement” a No. 2 share with 36 percent growth in Q1, said Gartner. PC shipments declined 10.8 percent to 24.9 million units in Asia-Pacific during Q1. “Pressure on traditional notebooks continued” there as the installed base “transitioned to alternative devices and [were] replaced only on an as-needed basis,” said Gartner.
The Commerce Department is postponing until June 30 the due date for its preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigation on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from China (C-570-013). Nucor Corporation, one of the companies that originally requested the investigation, had asked for the extension, and Commerce says it has no reason to deny the request. Once Commerce makes its preliminary determination, it can suspend liquidation and require cash deposits of estimated CV duties. The preliminary determination was originally due April 28.
The Commerce Department issued its final determination in the antidumping duty investigation on diffusion-annealed, nickel-plated flat-rolled steel products from Japan (A-552-869). The agency slightly decreased AD duty rates for many Japanese exporters. Changes to AD duty cash deposit requirements take effect April 10.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website April 8, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on steel nails from China (A-570-909). The agency lowered AD rates for many Chinese companies since it issued its preliminary results in September. These final results will be used to set final assessments of AD duties on importers for entries between Aug. 1, 2011 and July 31, 2012. New AD duty cash deposit rates set in this review will take effect April 8.
The Commerce Department issued its quarterly list of (i) completed antidumping and countervailing duty scope rulings and (ii) anticircumvention determinations. The following list covers completed scope and anticircumvention rulings for the period Oct. 1, 2013, through Dec. 31, 2013:
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review and a concurrent new shipper review on frozen fish fillets from Vietnam (A-552-801). The agency lowered AD rates for most companies under review. These final results will be used to set final assessments of AD duties on importers for entries between Aug. 1, 2011 and July 31, 2012. New AD duty cash deposit rates set in this review will take effect April 7.
The Commerce Department is ending its countervailing duty investigations on monosodium glutamate from China and Indonesia (C-570-993, C-560-827), after Ajinomoto North America (AJINA) withdrew its requests for CV duties in early March (see 14031035). Commerce says is the only domestic producer of MSG, so no other U.S. companies opposed termination of the proceedings. Commerce is ending suspension of liquidation for CV duty purposes for MSG from China. The agency doesn’t need to for Indonesia, because liquidation was never suspended in the first place.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the April 3 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent, and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):