On March 1, the US Department of Commerce issued an announcement to make an affirmative preliminary anti-subsidy ruling on aluminum lithographic printing plates imported from China. The preliminary ruling was that Fujifilm Printing Plate (China) Co., Ltd. (Fujifilm Printing Plate (China) Co., Ltd.) has a tax rate of 38.50%, Shanghai National Ink Co. Ltd. has a tax rate of 231.98% due to non-cooperation, and other manufacturers/exporters have a tax rate of 38.50%. The US Department of Commerce is expected to submit the final determination on July 9, 2024. This case involves products under US Customs Codes 3701.30.0000 and 3701.99.6060 and some products under 3701.99.3000 and 8442.50.1000.
The US is one of China's important export target countries for aluminum plate/sheet and strips. China exported a total of 137,800 mt of aluminum plate/sheet and strips to the US in 2023, with a value of $421 million, ranking as the fifth largest export target country.
China's aluminum plate/sheet and strip exports are featured by large volume and diverse export destinations. In 2023, China exported a total of 2.7724 million mt of aluminum plate/sheet and strip to 198 countries and regions, and exports to the top five export target countries accounted for less than 40% of the total, of which the US accounted for only 4.97% of total.
The annual output of aluminum lithographic printing plates is only about 400,000-500,000 mt, while the national aluminum plate/sheet and strip production in 2023 was about 12.4 million mt.
To sum up, SMM believes that this anti-dumping only involves the US market and printing plates. Due to its small proportion, it will not have a major impact on the Chinese aluminum plate/sheet and strip industry.
