Record Herald – Fed decision will benefit Candle-Lite
United States candlemakers, including Candle-Lite in Leesburg, will benefit from a decision made Thursday by the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to a news release from U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

Brown said the decision will help protect candle industry jobs against unfair competition from China.

In January, Brown said he sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke asking him to stand up for American candle producers against pressure from foreign interests seeking to loosen the scope of duties applied against Chinese petroleum wax candles.

The senator said the antidumping duties help level the playing field for American manufacturers by preventing a flood of artificially-cheap imports.

This week, the Department of Commerce ruled that all candles (with the exception of birthday, utility and figurine candles) will remain subject to the antidumping duties.

Dumping is the act of a manufacturer in one country exporting a product to another country at a price either below the price it charges in its home market, or if it can be proven that there has been a substantial increase of a specific good.

“Trade enforcement is about standing up for American jobs,” Brown said. “Today’s victory will help save candlemaking jobs right here in Ohio at Lumi-Lite in Norwich and Candle-Lite in Leesburg. For too long, we’ve passed wrongheaded trade agreements that don’t put American jobs first. Time and time again, countries like China have flouted trade laws by manipulating currency and subsidizing domestic industries; moves that have made it harder for American manufacturers to compete with cheap foreign imports. Today’s decision is another victory for Ohio workers against foreign interests.”

In response to pressure from candle importers, the Department of Commerce had proposed limiting the scope of antidumping duties to certain shapes and designs of candles. This proposed action had been of great concern to U.S. producers, because it would allow Chinese manufacturers to avoid the antidumping order by creating new shapes and sizes of candles; stunt the ingenuity and creativity of the U.S. candle industry, because it would not be able to compete with the new Chinese designs that likely would be imported at artificially-low prices; and harm the still-vulnerable U.S. candle industry, Brown said.