December 15, 2007 — In an unprecedented move the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) ruled that anti-dumping duties on bicycles with a value at or above FOB $225 from Chinese Taipei and China will continue for another five years.

The CITT issued its order on December 10th following the expiry review of its order made on December 9, 2002, concerning bicycles and frames originating in, or exported from, the two Asian countries.

In its release, the CITT said “the Tribunal found that the dumping of the bicycles in question is likely to result in injury or retardation. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will therefore continue to impose anti-dumping duties on these products.”

The Tribunal, however, also found that the dumping of the frames in question is not likely to result in injury or retardation, which means the CBSA will no longer impose anti-dumping duties on frames.

The renewals will last for another five years and will come up for renewal on Dec. 10, 2012. At some point in early 2012, the CITT will once again open the review process. This is the fourth straight renewal on the anti-dumping duties for bicycles, unprecedented as far as CITT rulings go. They came at the request of Raleigh Canada.

Many in Canada’s bicycle industry had been fighting against the renewal of the duties. While the CITT review was taking place, CASBI (Canadian Association of Specialty Bicycle Importers) said it would keep up the fight for the industry regardless of the decision.

“While CASBI’s main focus has been to fight anti-dumping duties since 1992, there is a growing realization inside the Canadian bicycle industry that any and all taxes on bicycles run counter to our government’s efforts to support green initiatives for transportation,” said Kona’s Jacob Heilbron, who is also CASBI’s president. “Regardless of the outcome of the current review, CASBI will continue to lobby our federal and provincial governments to reduce and eventually eliminate bicycle taxes.”

When the decision came down, Heilbron said he wasn’t particularly surprised. “Time after time, the CITT has looked at the Canadian bicycle industry from a narrow mass market perspective,” he said. “The problem for the IBD sector is that these low-end players will continue to push their retail prices higher and higher, hoping to capture a larger part of the IBD’s market share. The challenge for the specialty bicycle sector is to come together and develop strategies to protect themselves.”

As for removing the dumping duties on frames, Heilbron said it’s about opening Raleigh’s door to importing. “Removing the dump duty on frames is a move to help Raleigh switch from steel frame production to imported aluminum frame assembly. Although the Canadian content and ownership of Raleigh is marginal, the CITT still wrongly believe they deserve protection.”

CASBI lawyer Jim McIlroy called the decision to renew the duties perplexing. “In their decision the CITT is clearly critical of Raleigh. I’ve been going to the tribunal for over 20 years and I’ve never seen such harsh language regarding how a company is being run,” he said. “But they fell just sort of brushing it all aside and said they’ll give them another five years.”

The CITT is an independent body that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Finance. It hears cases on dumped and subsidized imports, safeguard complaints, complaints about federal government procurement and appeals of customs and excise tax rulings.