QUARTZ MANUFACTURING ALLIANCE OF AMERICA FILED GLOBAL SAFEGUARD PETITION

Safeguard Petition Addresses Surge of Imports and Continued Violations of Existing U.S. Trade Laws

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, September 18, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Quartz Manufacturing Alliance of America (QMAA) announced that it filed a safeguard petition under Sections 201–202 of the Trade Act of 1974, requesting that the U.S. government investigate a surge of imports and address ongoing violations of existing U.S. trade laws. The safeguard petition is necessary because of persistent “country-hopping” and other evasion tactics designed to avoid paying legally required tariffs and hijack the U.S. market for stone countertops. The petition requests that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigate whether quartz surface products (QSP) are being imported in such increased quantities that they are a substantial cause of serious injury to the U.S. industry.

This is not the first time action has been required to combat unfair trading of QSP. In 2019, the U.S. government imposed AD/CVD duties of more than 500% on imports of QSP from China to offset illegal dumping and heavy subsidization. Antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) previously imposed on China have not stopped the flood of illegal imports. Indian imports of QSP have now surpassed the highest volumes from China prior to the AD/CVD duties.

Fabricated offshore quartz entering the U.S. has also risen dramatically, threatening the future of American stone fabricators who skillfully transform stone slabs into custom countertops for U.S. homes and businesses. In 2024, over 40 million square feet of fabricated offshore stone product entered the U.S. market—much of it likely transshipped to evade duties. More was almost certainly imported through illegal misclassification of Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes. This volume represents an estimated 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 slabs of quartz stone fabricated offshore and shipped into the U.S. yearly, a shocking 3,000-4,000 slabs per day. Chinese producers and importers began relocating production facilities abroad before the 2019 duties in order to sell QSP to the U.S. at below-market prices. The U.S. government subsequently issued additional AD/CVD orders against imports from India and Turkey. The relocation of Chinese production facilities, technology, equipment, and quartz slabs to multiple Pacific Rim countries enables low-priced products to continuously flood the U.S. market.

Under U.S. trade law, importers must declare the country of origin, value of goods, whether goods are subject to duties, and amount owed. Submitting false information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is illegal and carries severe penalties.

The U.S. government has repeatedly found AD/CVD evasion in the QSP sector, including false reporting of country of origin and product classification under the HTS. Chinese-origin QSP has been transshipped through Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand, where it was falsely labeled. Others have been misclassified as “crushed glass” or marble to avoid duties. In fact, more than 10% of all anti-evasion cases across all industries under the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) involve QSP imports. For more information about CBP and, EAPA, visit https://www.cbp.gov/trade/eapa.

Last month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a Texas-based countertop supplier agreed to pay $12.4 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly evaded AD/CVD duties on QSP imported from China by misclassifying slabs as marble or crystallized glass. As part of the resolution, the whistleblower will receive approximately $2,170,875 from the settlement. Additional information here.

“The U.S. marketplace for stone products exploded as a result of U.S. manufacturers efforts to develop quartz surfacing markets. In addition to trade violations, importers mislabel stone mixes to undermine trade remedies and falsify country-of-origin labeling,” said Luke Meisner of Schagrin Associates, representing QMAA. “If not for the surge of imports and this widespread unlawful behavior, the domestic industry would not need to request this relief from the U.S. government.”

“This safeguard petition is necessary due to persistent and unlawful violation of existing U.S. trade laws,” said Marty Davis, CEO of Cambria Company. “Foreign producers and importers are hijacking the American consumer market for quartz surfacing, threatening American jobs, and unfairly undercutting U.S. quartz slab manufacturing factories and the highly valued American stone fabrication shops. These illegal imports exploit the most robust building products industry in the world, the United States, undermining the very principles of free enterprise and fair competition.”

“This safeguard petition will ensure the effective enforcement of existing U.S. trade laws that are essential to supporting free and fair competition in the United States and protecting U.S. manufacturing workers from having their jobs stolen by injurious imports,” said Dave Patton, General Counsel at Mohawk Industries, Inc., the parent company of Dal-Tile. “The Safeguard Act was instituted over 50 years ago to address this type of dramatic import surge.”

“As a new domestic producer of quartz slabs, we strongly support the QMAA’s safeguard petition because individual enforcement actions can no longer contain this crisis. The thousands of foreign producers and importers flooding the U.S. market with mislabeled and illegally transshipped products jeopardize every legitimate American manufacturer. Our recent investments in U.S. production designed to create jobs, build resilient supply chains, and strengthen the domestic stone industry are directly at risk. It is imperative that the U.S. government act decisively to stop the blatant and ongoing mislabeling of country of origin and product type. Without swift enforcement, fair competition will be impossible, and the future of American quartz manufacturing will be irreparably harmed,” said Rafael Guidoni of Guidoni USA.

Stone importers know that the spread between low-priced imports and domestic products largely goes into the pockets of sophisticated importers and distributors who help orchestrate these evasive schemes. The low import price rarely benefits U.S. fabricators’ operating margins, in fact often tightening their margins, nor are materially lower prices realized by the consumer. The QMAA expects homeowners will not face significant price increases as these countertop goods return to being traded legally on a level playing field.

# # #

Information and interview opportunities are available upon request.

Luke A. Meisner
Quartz Manufacturing Alliance of America (QMAA)
+1 202-223-1700
lmeisner@schagrinassociates.com

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.