The world’s top two golf cart manufacturers, both based in Augusta, are praising a government finding that China is unfairly subsidizing its low-speed vehicle industry.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced recently that China’s government has engaged in antidumping and countervailing activities to undercut global leaders Club Car and E-Z-Go in the low-speed personal transportation vehicle (LSPTV) industry.
Antidumping is when foreign manufacturers sell goods at less-than-fair value. Countervailing is when a foreign government subsidizes manufacturers to enable them to sell goods cheaply. Additional duties often are levied to compensate for a nation’s unfair trade actions.
The Commerce Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation and collect preliminary duties, in the form of cash deposits, on entries of LSPTVs from China, the department said.
“We’re glad to see the U.S. Department of Commerce take a stand for American manufacturers and workers,” Club Car President and CEO Mark Wagner said in a statement. “The decision … is a first step in the right direction to restore a fair marketplace for the American LSPTV industry and to help us and our hardworking employees recover from the unfair trade practices of the state-backed Chinese producers.”
“We are pleased that the U.S. Department of Commerce has recognized and taken decisive action against the unfair trade practices of the state-supported Chinese LSPTV industry,” said Rob Scholl, president and CEO of Textron, the parent company of E-Z-Go.
The announcement came just days after U.S. Rep. Rick W. Allen led a bipartisan, bicameral letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo, urging her department to stand by U.S. manufacturers and workers in the LSPTV industry by ensuring that U.S. laws address trade practices viewed as unfair.
“Last week’s announcement from the Commerce Department is a win for American manufacturers and workers and sends a clear message that we will not tolerate discriminatory trade practices that harm U.S. producers,” Allen said. “I am pleased that Secretary Raimondo heeded our letter and took decisive action to hold China accountable. The LSPTV industry is an important economic driver in the 12th District and we must take every necessary step to ensure a level playing field.”