Global Geopolitical Series: U.S. imposes duties on imports of Magnesium from Israel

Yet another signal from the Trump administration that the United States would no longer tolerate malpractices in trade. When it comes to trade, Allies and adversaries - all alike to President Trump and that’s why in the latest turn of events, the U.S. Commerce Department announced that in its investigation, it has found exporters of Magnesium from America’s ally Israel guilty of malpractices and to compensate for that imposed duties on the imports. In 2018, the U.S. imported $38.9 million worth of Magnesium from Israel.

The investigation was initiated based on petitions filed Magnesium LLC in October. The petitioner alleged dumping margins ranging from 92.06 to 130.61 percent. Moreover, the petitioner alleged the existence of 12 subsidy programs including seven tax programs and five grant programs.

The department has found exporters from Israel have dumped magnesium in the United States at a margin of 193.24 percent. The department has asked U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency to collect cash from importers based on these rates.

Actions like these have increased under the Trump administration and by as much as 219 percent, compared to a similar period under his predecessor.