In April 2024, Club Car announced an $8 million investment in Columbia County for a street-legal utility vehicle called the Urban LSV.
Now, the company, as part of the American Personal Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Coalition, has filed critical circumstances allegations with the U.S. Department of Commerce, to address a massive increase in Chinese imports of low-speed personal transportation vehicles (LSPTVs).
The Coalition seeks tariffs and duties on LSPTV products sold below market value and with the assistance of improper foreign government subsidies. Duties would be levied on any imports after Commerce’s preliminary determination beginning in November 2024. The latest import statistics show that Chinese manufacturers’ LSPTV shipments have increased by 109 percent since the Coalition’s petition was filed in June 2024.
“The surge in imports is a signal that Chinese manufacturers are intentionally shipping more products to the U.S. to avoid impending penalties and the rapid influx is causing even more harm to U.S. golf cart and personal vehicle manufacturers and threatening American businesses and jobs,” said Mark Wagner, CEO of Club Car. “We cannot stand by while our market is flooded with these unfairly priced products which are made without regard to the American safety standards and regulations.”
According to Club Car, the attempt by Chinese companies to dump low-quality products into the American market ahead of any duties by the United States has escalated so quickly that Club Car and the Coalition have called for urgent action to impose retroactive duties on these Chinese imports. If the Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) rule in favor of this request, duties may apply retroactively, comprising shipments made up to 90 days before a final ruling is made.
“Our goal is to ensure the domestic market thrives and competition remains fair. These Chinese-manufactured vehicles are priced unfairly, put the safety of Americans at risk, and are destructive to the industry. Anti-dumping and countervailing duties will help protect U.S. manufacturers and level the playing field,” Wagner said.
On July 10, 2024, Commerce opened an AD/CVD investigation into Chinese LSPTV imports, and on August 2, 2024, the USITC unanimously confirmed that these imports are indeed harming U.S. manufacturers. The next and most immediate step is for Commerce to determine whether “critical circumstances” exist. In other words, whether the recent surge in imports warrants immediate action.
