LEGAL UPDATE
On May 5, 2026, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) announced its recommendation on the application of a remedy in the U.S. safeguard investigation on quartz surface products. This case was previously initiated by the ITC on December 2, 2025.
Some key details regarding the recommendation:
1. Subject Merchandise: Quartz Surface Products, including unfabricated and fabricated slabs. Products imported from Vietnam are not expected to be excluded from this measure.
2. Applied Measure: Application of a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for a period of 4 years. Specifically, the recommended tariff-rate quota has an in-quota tariff rate of 25 percent ad valorem and an above-quota rate of 40 percent ad valorem.The annual quota level will be allocated quarterly, with each quarter allowing 25% of the in-quota volume to be utilized.
3. Details of duty rates and quota (duties decrease by 1 percentage point and quota increases each year):
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | |
| In-Quota Volume Level(millions of square feet) | 140 | 159 | 164 | 169 |
| In-Quota Tariff Rate(ad valorem) | 25% | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| Out-of-Quota Tariff Rate(ad valorem) | 40% | 39% | 38% | 37% |
4.Mechanism of application & other recommendations: The aforementioned tariffs will be applied under a “de-stacking” mechanism, meaning they will not overlap with various other additional tariffs, except for anti-dumping and countervailing (AD/CVD) duties. Consequently, imported goods may still be subject to both safeguard duties and AD/CVD duties simultaneously. The ITC also recommends considering policy proposals to mitigate potential circumvention.
