The US Commerce Department has ruled that 3.5 floppy disks from Japan are being sold in the US at less than fair market value, and that anti-dumping duties of up to 51% are justified. The 51% penalty would apply to disks from Sony Corp, with Hitachi Maxell Ltd judged to be charging 27.73% too little. Before duties are imposed, the US International Trade Commission has 45 days to determine whether the imports materially injure or threaten injury to US industry. If it decides that they do, anti-dumping duties will be assessed on the products. The Japanese manufacturers were threatening last September to withdraw their disks from the market rather than submit to anti-dumping duties (CI No 1,017), so the Commerce decision threatens a 3.5 disk famine in the US, because 90% of world production of the disks is in Japan. The investigation was in response to a complaint last March from Eastman Kodak Co’s Verbatim (CI No 892).
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