The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled unanimously in favor of Koehler and revoked an antidumping order on lightweight thermal paper imports from Germany.
Retained by Hughes Hubbard & Reed
Counsel for Koehler SE retained Cornerstone Research and Professor Orley Ashenfelter of Princeton University to review the potential effects of the removal of an antidumping order. Koehler, a German firm, is the world’s largest producer of lightweight thermal paper (LWTP), which is commonly used for receipts. In 2008, the ITC imposed an antidumping order on imports of LWTP from Germany on the grounds that they posed a threat to the domestic producers. These orders are reviewed after a period of five years in what is called a sunset review.
In the sunset review that concluded in 2014, Cornerstone Research and Professor Ashenfelter analyzed whether the imposition of the antidumping order had impacted prices of LWTP in the United States, whether Koehler had incentives to reduce its prices and shift sales to the United States in the absence of the order, and whether the revocation of the order would adversely impact the domestic producers of LWTP.
The ITC found the economic analysis compelling and decided that LWTP imports from Germany no longer posed a threat to the domestic industry.
Using confidential data from Koehler and domestic producers, Cornerstone Research and Professor Ashenfelter showed that the imposition of the antidumping order did not impact prices of LWTP sold in the United States. In addition, the economic analysis demonstrated that the productivity of the primary domestic producer had improved significantly since 2008, and that German producers had no incentive to increase their U.S. market share if the ITC were to lift the order.
The ITC found the economic analysis compelling and decided that LWTP imports from Germany no longer posed a threat to the domestic industry. In a unanimous ruling, the Commission revoked the antidumping order. Kivanç Kirgiz and Emre Uyar, both of Cornerstone Research, also appeared on behalf of Koehler during the ITC hearing.