On February 13, 2002, the American Bearing Manufacturers Association (ABMA) petitioned the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), requesting an investigation into alleged dumping of ball bearings and parts from the People's Republic of China (formally, a Section 731 complaint). The ABMA claims ball bearings from China are being sold in the United States at unfairly low prices, threatening the survival of the domestic ball bearing industry.

ABMA President, David Rohn, indicated to eBearing the ABMA's executive board made the decision to file the complaint. He said the group's position is that the U.S. market is being overrun with unfairly priced ball bearings from China; he noted, for example, that the number of ball bearings brought into the U.S. from China each year recently jumped from 323 million to 411 million.

The ABMA press release:

As discussed in the petition, the volume of Chinese ball bearings and parts imported into the United States is significant and increasing, having reached record levels in each of the past four years. These imports are being sold at unfair prices, with dumping margins on many sales well in excess of 100 percent. As a direct result of these aggressive and unfair pricing practices, Chinese ball bearing producers have captured an increasing share of the U.S. market. Domestic manufacturers have lost significant sales and have suffered serious price erosion. U.S. ball bearing production has dropped, and capacity utilization, wages and employment, profits, and investment have all been affected adversely. In short, the unfair pricing tactics of Chinese producers have materially injured the U.S. ball bearing industry and threaten even greater injury in the future.

"Our member companies are among the most advanced and efficient in the world," said David Rohn, the ABMA's President. "They are able to compete with anyone, including the Chinese, provided that competition takes place on a level playing field. We are seeking through this antidumping action to achieve fair trade by eliminating unfair pricing."

Last year, the market for ball bearings and parts in the United States exceeded $2 billion. The federal government has found that a vibrant domestic ball bearing industry is of strategic importance to U.S. national defense and, more generally, to a strong national industrial base. If the unfair Chinese imports continue unabated, the ability of the U.S. ball bearing industry to fulfill these strategic roles will be undermined.

Asked about possible action regarding Chinese tapered roller bearings in the U.S. market, Mr. Rohn said the Board's decision at this time was to file the petition only in reference to ball bearings.

The complaint was initially successful and preliminary rounds of duties were levied on ball bearings from Chinese manufacturers.