On July 29, 2020, Novus International, Inc. (Novus) filed petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) seeking antidumping duties (ADD) on imports of methionine from France, Japan and Spain.  The petition alleges that imports of methionine “more than doubled from 2017 to 2019, increasing by 110.2 percent.  In the first quarter of 2020, as the Coronavirus crisis began to unfold, subject imports increased by another 29.1 percent.”  Novus argues that “[e]xisting trends in import market share, underselling, and price suppression and/or depression would lead to further injury if they continue without relief.”

The scope of the petition is methionine and precursors to methionine, including dl-Hydroxy analogue of dl-methionine, also known as 2-Hydroxy 4-(Methylthio) Butanoic acid (HMTBa), regardless of purity, particle size, grade, or physical form. Methionine has the chemical formula C5H11NO2S, liquid HMTBa has the chemical formula C5H10O3S, and dry HMTBa has the chemical formula C6H9CaO5S.  Methionine is an amino acid and is one of the essential sulfur-containing amino acids that must be supplied in the diets of animals.  It is used in the synthesis of protein. Methionine is currently classified and entering the United States under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 2930.40.00.00 and 2930.90.46.00 and has the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry numbers 583-91-5, 4857-44-7, 59-51-8 and 922-50-9.

The petition lists Adisseo France SAS, Adisseo España and Sumitomo Corporation as foreign producers that shipped methionine products to the United States at allegedly dumped prices from France Spain and Japan, and identifies numerous U.S. importers of those products.

Commerce will determine by August 18, 2020, whether to formally initiate the investigations and, if Commerce does, the Commission will decide within 25 days after that whether there is a reasonable indication of existing material injury or threat of material injury to the domestic methionine industry that will require continuation of the investigations.

Thompson Hine is monitoring this matter closely. For additional information or to obtain a copy of the petitions, please contact us