On Friday the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) imposed preliminary antidumping duties on certain engineered wood flooring from China. Two of the investigation’s “mandatory respondents”—the largest manufacturers by volume that sell engineered wood flooring to U.S. importers—will not have any additional antidumping duties imposed on their goods; those two companies are Zhejiang Layo and Zhejiang Yuhua. A third mandatory respondent, Samling Group, will see an antidumping duty of 10.88 percent. All other companies participating in the investigation—known as “separate rate companies”—will see an antidumping duty of 10.88 percent. Also, DOC has assigned an antidumping duty of 82.65 percent to any other engineered wood flooring manufacturer in China that does not fall into either the mandatory respondent or separate rate categories.

This is just the latest development in the Coalition for American Hardwood Parity’s (CAHP) effort to correct trade disparities it sees in the U.S. market for engineered wood flooring from China. DOC found two mandatory respondents—Zhejiang Layo and Samling Group—had performed “targeted dumping,” or selling a product at a lower price to certain customers or in certain regions than they do to other customers; however, even considering this, Zhejiang Layo will not be assigned any additional antidumping duty.

The Alliance for Free Choice and Jobs in Flooring (AFCJF)—a group of engineered wood flooring importers, distributors and dealers—was formed to oppose antidumping and countervailing duties on imported engineered wood flooring from China. After receiving the latest news from DOC, Jonathan Train, the AFCJF’s president, said, “I can tell you, all of us are definitely breathing a big sigh of relief.” He views the duty rates as confirmation that no substantial injury to U.S. manufacturers has taken place. “When you have two companies at zero, and one at 10 [percent], is there really injury?”

In a press release, the AFCJF said, “The fact that the third mandatory [respondent] received a rate of only 5 percent of what the [CAHP] had originally demanded proves our point that [CAHP's] claims were exaggerated and wildly inaccurate.” Originally, CAHP alleged engineered wood flooring from China had a dumping margin—the amount by which a product’s normal value exceeds the export price—of 237 percent. Furthermore, the AFCJF sees the “all others” antidumping duty of 82.65 percent as insignificant since it says that rate will apply to only about 5 percent of engineered wood flooring imported from China.

In March, DOC imposed a preliminary countervailing duty on engineered wood flooring from China; the majority of imported Chinese wood flooring would be charged an additional 2.25 percent to offset subsidies the Chinese government gives to its domestic engineered wood flooring manufacturers.

At this point, the antidumping and countervailing duties are temporary and could be eliminated in the fall, when DOC is expected to make its final determination in each investigation.

As of press time, the CAHP had not released a response to the DOC’s latest ruling.

Below is the official fact sheet distributed by DOC:

http://issuu.com/HFmag/docs/wood_flooring_ad_fs_prelim

Wood floors have different systems of installations

1) Tongue-and-Groove

One side of the plank has a groove, and the other side has a tongue. The tongue and groove fit  together like a puzzle, aligning and stabilizing the planks , and are not visible once joined. Tongue-and-groove flooring can be installed by glue-down (both engineered and solid), floating (mostly engineered only), or nail-down.

Image from (http://essentialextrasinc.com/deck-flooring-material.html)

2) Click System

 ”Click System” floors are similar to tongue-and-groove, but instead of fitting directly into the groove, the board is angled  in to make the jagged tongue fit into the modified groove. No adhesive needs to be used when installing a “click” floor, making the whole replacement process easier. This system not only exists for engineered wood floors but also bamboo.

Image from (http://www.vegasupply.com/images/elesgo/elesgoclicksystem.gif)

3) Floor Connection System

The general principle is to have grooves on all four sides of the plank with a separate, unconnected, piece that is inserted into the grooves of two planks to join them. The piece used for the connection can be made from wood, rubber, or plastic. This installation system allows for different materials (i.e. wood and metal) to be installed together if they have the same connection system.

Images from (http://www.greatmats.com/products/wood-dance-floor-pro.php)

4) Glue Down

Wood flooring can also be glued-down. This is specifically used for solid flooring installations on concrete sub-floors. Additionally, engineered wood flooring may use the glue-down method as well. A layer of plastic is placed onto the sub-floor . The wood pieces are then laid on top of the glue and hammered into place using a rubber mallet and nail. Often the  floor will require sanding and re-finishing after the glue-down installation method due to the small size pieces.

Image from (http://hardwood-floors.mgcrenovations.us/)

Old Crafters Inc is a family owned business that resulted from the need to have unique and custom designed wood floors, that exceeds all expectations. Up to 2011, the entire family has traveled all across South America, through the mountains, deserts, and jungles to find new species, styles, and mills that respect the beauty of nature. To us, trees are like a humans, although they can reproduce themselves, each and everyone is unique (color, aroma, grain, quality, and resistance).  therefore when we work with wood, we respect it and treat it as if there are no replacements or do-overs, like non renewable resource.  

Given this, we have come up with designs that are practical solutions for recycling unused and discarded materials keeping in mind that we are working with a unique and limited resource. We have developed different lines of accessories and decorations that rescues the wood’s beauty from being vanished into nostalgia. Old Crafters Inc gives back to the community in the sense that it acts like a design hub for many important projects, and generates jobs and gives information to creative people who care for nature. The products we sell are woods sawn selectively, taking advantage of abandoned, sick, old trees and planting new healthy ones instead. Our products are in compliance with legitimate documentation and transport emitted from the provincial authority. Our products are certified for exports with  their corresponding permits CITES.

Wood floors are a very popular item amongst most homes. Engineered wood flooring is a type of floor composed of multiple layers of wood following the shape of the plank. The ply can range from 2-5 layers or “lamellas”. Not to be confused with laminate, vinyl, and veneer flooring, engineered flooring is a real wood floor, with the only differance of having layers for added stability. It is  the #1 seller in Europe and is catching up to the solid wood flooring market in the U.S. and Canada.

(Photo from mtnhighinspections.com)

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