THE U.S. Commerce Department said Friday it had decided to launch anti-dumping duty and countervailing duty investigations into certain hardwood plywood products from China.

    The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is scheduled to make its preliminary injury determinations on or before Jan. 3, 2017, it said in a statement.

    The probes follow petitions from six privately owned U.S. plywood producers, four of them in Oregon, into the imports, which the department estimates totaled US$1.15 billion in 2015.

    The material is used in wall panels, kitchen cabinets, table and desk tops and certain flooring, it said.(SD-Agencies)