WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commerce Department preliminarily determined that China is dumping imports of N-Cyclohexylbenzothiazole-2-Sulfenamide, known as CBS, a chemical used in rubber manufacturing.
Commerce assigned preliminary dumping rates to all Chinese producers of 285.94 percent, according to the official statement summarised on November 4. The preliminary ruling is part of the department's trade-remedy process, in which it examines whether imports are being sold in the United States at less than fair value.
CBS is a sulfenamide accelerator used in the production of rubber goods, including tires. A dumping finding of this size, if confirmed in a final determination, would sharply raise the cost of Chinese CBS entering the U.S. market.
The ruling comes amid a broader U.S.-China trade standoff in which tariff and trade-remedy actions have continued even as the two sides discuss reciprocal tariff cuts. Washington and Beijing proposed a $60 billion package of reciprocal tariff cuts after a September summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, though that plan has yet to be finalised.
The Commerce Department's preliminary determinations are typically followed by further proceedings before any final duties are imposed. The statement did not, in the summary published, set out the full reasoning behind the rate assigned to Chinese producers.
