Hogan Lovells secures major antidumping victory for Brazilian millwork industry
Washington DC, 21 January 2021 – Global law firm Hogan Lovells represented Brazilian millwork exporter Araupel S.A. in a major victory where, after a yearlong investigation, the U.S. Department of Commerce determined imports of wood mouldings and millwork products from Brazil should not be subject to antidumping duties.
The Coalition of American Millwork Producers, a coalition of leading U.S. millwork producers, filed the petition in January alleging that American millwork companies were being injured by imports of Brazilian and Chinese millwork products. Araupel, along with Braslumber Industria de Molduras Ltda. and BrasPine Madeiras Ltda., were selected to participate the mandatory respondents in the investigation.
Ultimately, on 28 December, Commerce determined that millwork products imported from Brazil are not being dumped in the U.S. market. This negative determination reduced the petitioned for 86.73 percent dumping margin to zero – a major win for Araupel and the Brazilian millwork industry at large. As part of this same investigation, millwork products from China were assessed dumping rates as high as 230.36%, highlighting the significance of the win for the Brazilian exporters.
The Hogan Lovells team that advised Araupel was led by partners Deen Kaplan and Craig Lewis, and included international arbitration and trade advisor Maria Arboleda, and associate Barbra Kim. Gilberto Deon Corrêa Junior, partner at Souto Correa Advogados, and associate Clarissa Yokomizo, who served as local counsel in Brazil, also played a significant role in this matter.