CBP Announces EAPA Investigation, Interim Measures on Wire Coated Coil Nails From China

CBP announced a new Enforce and Protect Act investigation, saying it has reasonable suspicion that VY Industries, a Canada-based company and U.S. distributor, evaded the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on wire coated coil nails from China. The agency said this finding made the enactment of interim measures necessary.

The initiation notice, dated March 26, followed an allegation from Corus Fastening, a distributor of industrial nails, staples and "tools associated with their use," which said that the importers were violating the AD/CVD orders. The product in question appeared to be made by a Chinese manufacturer and transshipped through India and Canada, the alleger said.

Corus provided CBP with photographs of nails from VY Industries with "Made in China'" and "Made in India" markings. The alleger also said that former Corus customers said VY Industries shipped the nails to them from Canada.

In January, CBP issued two Form 28 requests to VY Industries for information on two entries. The information submitted by the company "aligned with" the evasion allegation, CBP said.

The submissions for both entries were identical, CBP said. VY Industries has no known connections with the manufacturer it identified, CBP said. The dates for the entries precede the test certificate dates, which is evidence that the test certificates aren't for the entries in question, meaning VY Industries didn't properly respond to the request.

Although VY Industries reported in the response that the manufacturer is located in India, the record evidence indicates that the company transshipped Chinese-origin nails through Canada before entering the merchandise into the U.S., CBP said. The manufacturer's website didn't provide any proof that the company could produce nails, nor did it list nails as a product it offered, CBP said.

CBP found that VY Industries had imported nails from a Chinese supplier in the past, according to a previous year's trade data, CBP said. The supplier was a Dubai family-owned business that had manufacturing located in India, Dubai and China.

A second Indian company exported nails to VY Industries despite claiming to be a mattress manufacturer, suggesting reasonable evidence that the company transshipped Chinese nails through India, CBP said.

The agency said it will suspend the liquidation of each unliquidated entry on or after Dec. 20, 2023, the date of the investigation initiation, and extend the period for liquidating each unliquidated entry of such covered merchandise that entered before that date. It also said it may take additional measures, including requiring a single transaction bond or additional security or the posting of a cash deposit with respect to such covered merchandise. CBP will require live entry and reject any entry summaries that don't comply with live entry procedures as well as evaluate the importer's continuous bonds to determine sufficiency.

VY Industries didn't respond to our requests for comment.