Glycine from Thailand Injures U.S. Industry, Says USITC

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of glycine from Thailand that the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value.

Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein and Jason E. Kearns voted in the affirmative.  Commissioners Randolph J. Stayin and Amy A. Karpel did not participate in these votes.

As a result of the USITC’s affirmative determination, Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order on imports of this product from Thailand. 

The Commission’s public report Glycine from Thailand (Inv. No. 731-TA-1415 (Final), USITC Publication 4977, October 2019) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the investigation.

The report will be available by October 23, 2019; when available, it may be accessed on the USITC website at: https://www.usitc.gov/commission_publications_library.

UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20436

FACTUAL HIGHLIGHTS

Product Description:  Glycine, also known as aminoacetic acid, is a nonessential amino acid (Chemical Abstracts Service registry number 56-40-6). The organic chemical is produced naturally by humans and other organisms as a building block for proteins. Commercial production of glycine uses traditional chemical synthesis. Glycine is most commonly sold in its dry form as a white, free flowing powder. Glycine is odorless and sweet to the taste. Available in various grades, glycine is used in industrial applications, as well as pharmaceutical and food applications.

Status of Proceedings:

1. Type of investigation:  Final phase antidumping duty investigation.
2. Petitioners:  Chattem and GEO.
3. USITC Institution Date:  Wednesday, March 28, 2018.
4. USITC Hearing Date:  Tuesday, April 30, 2019.
5. USITC Vote Date:  Wednesday, September 18, 2019.
6. USITC Notification to Commerce Date:  October 8, 2019.

U.S. Industry in 2017:

1. Number of U.S. producers:  2
2. Location of producers’ plants:  Tennessee and Texas.
3. Production and related workers:  ¹
4. U.S. producers’ U.S. shipments:  ¹
5. Apparent U.S. consumption:  ¹
6. Ratio of imports from Thailand to apparent U.S. consumption:  ¹

U.S. Imports in 2017:

1. U.S. imports from China, India, and Japan:  $18.6 million.
2. U.S. imports from Thailand:  $4.6 million.
3. U.S. imports from all other sources: $480,000.
4. Leading import sources:  China, India, Japan, and Thailand.