Maine Congressional Delegation Applauds Department of Commerce Findings in Favor of Auburn Manufacturing, Inc.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Maine Congressional Delegation welcomed the affirmative final determinations from the U.S. Department of Commerce in its investigation of Chinese producers for selling unfairly subsidized industrial grade amorphous silica fabric (ASF) in the United States at less than fair value. The Department of Commerce has concurred with Auburn Manufacturing, Inc. and the Maine Delegation that the unfair trade practices occurred and has assigned total cash deposit rates of more than 200 percent to China’s largest producers and exporters of ASF.

“When a company like AMI strives to create and keep good-paying jobs in Maine, we owe it to them to stand up to unfair trade practices,” said Senators Collins and King and Representatives Pingree and Poliquin in a joint statement. “That’s why we welcome this ruling as a significant victory for AMI, its employees, and for Maine, and we will continue to do all that we can to ensure that there is a level playing field for Maine manufacturers.”

Led by owner Kathie Leonard, AMI has pushed back against the rise in unfairly traded imports of ASF, a heat-resistant material, from China. Senators Collins and King and Congressmen Pingree and Poliquin each provided testimony in support of AMI during a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) hearing in Washington yesterday. The ITC is tasked with conducting the injury investigations in preliminary and final phase of trade disputes such as this one, and by law, the Department of Commerce makes the ultimate determination if there were in fact unfair trade practices.

Now that the Department of Commerce has made an affirmative final antidumping determination, the Secretary of Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from the Chinese producers named in the investigation as payment for the estimated duties they owe on the merchandise that has entered this country. This successful result will re-level the playing field for AMI and other American companies that produce industrial grade ASF textiles. More information on the Department of Commerce determination is available HERE.

AMI is a small, woman-owned manufacturing producer with two locations in Auburn and Mechanic Falls. AMI employs forty people at two facilities and is a leading producer of high performance, heat-resistant fabrics and textiles. The company first filed a petition with the ITC in January 2016. It has lost business and had to lay off workers as a result of illegally subsidized and dumped Chinese imports.