U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) led a letter this week urging the International Trade Commission (ITC) to enforce action against illegal Chinese trade practices that have harmed the American kitchen cabinet industry.
The letter, signed by Sen. Rounds and 24 of his bipartisan Senate colleagues, was sent to ITC Chairman David Johanson and states that the cabinet industry in the United States has suffered as much as $4 billion in losses due to China’s unfair trading practices. There are more than 250,000 Americans that work within the cabinet and vanity industry, according to the letter.
“When foreign countries are allowed to take these actions, workers and their families right here at home are harmed. Data from the International Trade Commission’s preliminary investigation into Chinese cabinet dumping found that the domestic cabinet industry pays an hourly wage of $17.20,” the senators wrote. “Workers who hold these jobs are able to make meaningful contributions to communities large and small across our country. The loss of a kitchen cabinet manufacturer has an outsized impact in small-town America, which is already struggling with a weakened farm economy.”
According to the bipartisan letter, which was also led by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chinese cabinet imports have increased more than 75 percent since 2015 and, due to continued Chinese trade practices, shows no sign of slowing.
On March 6, 2019, the American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance filed petitions with the ITC and U.S. Department of Commerce, stating the U.S. cabinet industry is materially injured by the imports of wooden cabinets and vanities from China. In April 2019, the ITC reached affirmative determinations in the preliminary investigation.
“The Commission’s unanimous agreement at the affirmative preliminary injury vote this past April underscores the gravity of the situation,” the senators wrote.