Canadian trailer manufacturers have avoided the worst-case scenario they feared when U.S. trailer makers launched trade complaints last year, though the industry still faces preliminary anti-dumping duties as the case moves toward a final decision.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has assigned a 4.29% preliminary anti-dumping duty to cooperating Canadian manufacturers, significantly lower than the 31.16% dumping margin originally alleged in the petition filed by the American Trailer Manufacturers Coalition (ATMC).

The preliminary rate applies to Manac as the sole mandatory respondent with a calculated margin, as well as ITD Industries, Morgan Canada and other cooperating Canadian manufacturers under the “All Others” rate.

Earlier this summer, Commerce also terminated its countervailing duty (CVD) investigation into Canada after the coalition withdrew its allegations that Canadian manufacturers benefited from unfair government subsidies. As a result, Canadian trailer makers now face only the anti-dumping investigation, while Mexican manufacturers remain subject to both anti-dumping and countervailing duties.

Two Canadian manufacturers that did not respond to Commerce’s quantity-and-value questionnaire — Collins Manufacturing Company and Gincor Werx — received a preliminary anti-dumping duty of 44.86% based on adverse facts available.

Commerce’s preliminary determination also clarifies why Vanguard Trailer was absent from the Canadian rate table despite being named as a mandatory respondent. According to the preliminary decision memorandum, Commerce determined Vanguard’s exports from Canada were assembled using Chinese-origin subassemblies and therefore should be considered under the separate China investigation rather than the Canadian case.

The preliminary decision leaves Manac as the only Canadian manufacturer with an individually calculated dumping margin, which Commerce used to establish the 4.29% “All Others” rate applied to cooperating Canadian exporters.

While Canadian manufacturers welcomed the elimination of the subsidy case and the relatively modest preliminary dumping margin, the investigation is far from over.

Commerce’s preliminary determinations become effective upon publication in the Federal Register, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin collecting cash deposits on covered imports. The department will continue its investigation before issuing final anti-dumping determinations later this year.

The American Trailer Manufacturers Coalition, which represents Great Dane, Stoughton Trailers and Wabash, welcomed the preliminary rulings.

“These preliminary determinations represent another meaningful step toward restoring fair competition in the U.S. trailer market,” said Robert E. DeFrancesco, trade counsel to the coalition and a partner at Wiley.

The coalition also noted Commerce will continue applying Chinese anti-dumping and countervailing duties to Chinese-origin trailers and subassemblies shipped to the United States through Canada, reinforcing the department’s focus on preventing circumvention of existing Chinese trade remedies.

For Canadian manufacturers, the latest rulings represent a marked improvement over the scenario they feared when the investigations began. During interviews with trucknews.com earlier this year, executives described the combined threat of Section 232 tariffs, countervailing duties and anti-dumping duties as an “existential crisis” for the industry.