I am writing to express my concern regarding an effort by domestic made-to-order cabinet companies to impose substantial duties on imports of “ready to assemble” (RTA) cabinets. In March 2019, these companies submitted an unfounded anti-dumping/countervailing duty petition to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) (ITC Investigation #701-TA-620).

This case is a blatant attempt to take advantage of anti-China trade sentiment in order to wipe out the distinct RTA cabinet market, which accounts for less than 10% of all U.S. cabinet sales. RTA cabinets fill a specific consumer need by providing a limited selection of options available for delivery in a matter of days—a dramatically faster turnaround time than made-to-order companies offer.

The RTA industry directly employs tens of thousands of Americans working for suppliers, distributors, and installers. Duties will put these jobs at risk while needlessly punishing American consumers who benefit from an array of cabinet choices. The need for on-demand cabinetry is real and simply unfulfilled by domestic manufacturers.

Ironically, some of the made-to-order producers behind this case have themselves been the biggest importers of cabinets and cabinet components from China. Rather than bringing these jobs back to the United States, most have opted to shift production to Vietnam, Mexico, and elsewhere.

The U.S. cabinet industry overall is healthy and growing – it does not need punitive trade action on a segment of the market that its U.S. production does not serve.

I urge you to contact the ITC and ask the commissioners to carefully consider the impact of higher tariffs on the small, but important U.S. companies operating in the RTA niche of this industry.

Thank you for your support.