China has slapped American fibre-optic firms with anti-dumping tariffs – a move announced hours after the US Treasury imposed sanctions on a Guangzhou-based chemical firm, over fentanyl claims.
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The duties, ranging from 33.3 to 78.2 per cent, went into immediate effect and are to remain in place until April 2028, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday in an online statement.
Specifically, OFS Fitel faces a 33.3 per cent tariff, Corning a 37.9 per cent levy, and Draka Communications Americas, along with other unidentified US firms, were hit with a 78.2 per cent tariff.
Beijing has imposed anti-dumping tariffs since April 2023 on a type of US fibre used in high-speed optical transmission and data centre interconnections. But a six-month probe that began in March found that US exporters were dodging the duties by labelling it as another kind of fibre with similar uses but slightly different technical specifications, the ministry said.
“The ministry ruled that US exporters altered trade patterns without commercial justification to ship the optical fibre to China, undermining existing anti-dumping duties,” the statement said.
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Launched at the request of Chinese companies, the probe marked China’s first-ever anti-circumvention investigation, according to the ministry. Such an investigation assesses whether trade practices have been altered to avoid liability for duties.
Also on Thursday, Chinese customs authorities revealed the specific product code – 90011000.01 – for the optical fibre being subjected to additional anti-dumping tariffs.