KCMA regrets to announce that during its board meeting today, American Woodmark, MasterBrand Cabinets, and Cabinetworks Group notified KCMA leadership of their resignation from the association. These companies have been valued members of the association for many years.
By way of background, in April, 2020, in response to petitions filed by KCMA to combat unfairly traded imports from China, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on wooden cabinets, vanities and components thereof (“WCV”) from China. The relief provided by these orders to the domestic industry was being eroded by WCV that were made in China and then transshipped through Malaysia and Vietnam to the United States. In April 2022, the KCMA requested that the Commerce Department conduct scope inquiries and anti-circumvention proceedings to address this problem and protect tens of thousands of American cabinet jobs.
The three companies’ departure followed the KCMA board’s discussion and rejection of their proposal to immediately cause KCMA to withdraw the scope and anti-circumvention petitions related to Chinese-origin WCV exported from Vietnam and Malaysia into the United States. As part of the departure, MasterBrand Cabinets immediately canceled its participation at the KCMA Fall Conference, including the plant tour of its Starmark Cabinetry facility and its conference panel session.
KCMA will always stand up to countries that engage in unfair trade practices, and we are proud to support domestic cabinet manufacturing.
Three Companies Resign From KCMA Over Trade Matters
Published on October 4, 2022
