The U.S. Court of International Trade recently ordered the U.S. Department of Commerce to issue and publish anti-dumping duty orders and order the collection of cash deposits on subject diamond saw blades from China and Korea. The move is in response to a petition from the “Diamond Sawblades Manufacturers Coalition,” and as a result, the Department of Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation and collect cash deposits on diamond saw blades from China and Korea at ad valorem rates.

Although the International Trade Commission (ITC) initially reported that the U.S. was not materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of saw blades from China and Korea, that finding was challenged by the Diamond Sawblades Manufacturers Coalition. Ultimately, the ITC changed its determination and found that a U.S. industry is threatened with material injury by reason of imports of saw blades from China and Korea.

While the U.S. companies in the Diamond Sawblade Manufacturers Coalition are based primarily in the concrete industry, the ruling is also said to affect the natural stone industry. The products covered by these orders are all finished circular saw blades, whether slotted or not, with a working part that is comprised of a diamond segment or segments and parts thereof, regardless of specification or size. Among the exceptions to this order are saw blades with diamonds directly attached to the core with a resin or electroplated bond, as well as diamond saw blades and/or saw blade cores with a thickness of less than 0.025 inches or greater than 1.1 inches.

In its final determination, the Department of Commerce ruled that concave and convex cores, and finished diamond saw blades produced from such cores, are within the scope of the investigations. It also ruled that metal-bonded diamond 1A1R grinding wheels and granite contour diamond saw blades are within the scope of the investigations.