Unlawful refrigeration imports pose threat to US industry: HFC coalition

The U.S. Department of Commerce, on June 18, has initiated several investigations to govern the Chinese HFC imports, and check whether they were circumventing the 2016 anti-dumping duty. The importers have been blending Chinese HFC components, including R-125, R-32, R-134a, and R-143a, in third countries and in the United States. Importers have also begun importing blends that do not meet ASHRAE specifications and standards, and completing those blends in the United States by adding small amounts of HFC components to bring the blends in specification. The U.S. department of commerce’s noticed the same, and indicated towards an investigation, as they view it as an effort to circumvent U.S. law and evade anti-dumping duties.

The U.S. Department of Commerce started investigating the issue, with respect to the Chinese HFC components, that are blended in the United States. Chinese and Indian HFCs that are blended in India, are imports of a patented HFC blend that are converted into a standard (non-patented) product after importation, and imports of semi-finished blends that are finished in the U.S. to meet industry standards.

These requests were triggered by some staggering statistics that show a 260 per cent increase in the volume of these HFC components, which the American HFC Coalition says, are now threatening the survival of a U.S. industry. Direct imports of HFC components now exceed the volume of imports of HFC blends in 2016, when the original anti-dumping duty order was published. Less than three years after the antidumping duty order was published in August 2016, Chinese imports of HFC refrigerants are greater than ever.

HFC blends, today, are the most-used refrigerant in residential air conditioners and cool homes without depleting the ozone layer. Members of the American HFC Coalition have more recently developed the next generation of refrigerants, HFOs. Despite the antidumping orders, China’s enormous capacity continues to grow. Imports of single component HFCs are flooding the U.S. market and depressing prices below the cost of production.

The American HFC Coalition believes that the investigations will uncover the relentless efforts by Chinese exporters and importers to escape the anti-dumping duty order and continue to flood the U.S. market with unfairly low-priced HFC refrigerants and apply the full extent of the law.