NC exec: Jobs will be lost in NC if Biden lets China in the back door again

For more than a 100 years, Marsh Furniture Company has been a staple community employer in High Point, often called the Furniture Capital of the World. Through the decades, Marsh has produced kitchen and bath cabinetry for homes in North Carolina and across the eastern United States.

Marsh is still owned and operated by the Marsh family and employs over 700 people across North and South Carolina.

From the Great Depression to the Great Recession, the U.S. cabinet-making industry has weathered countless fluctuations in the economy while managing to persevere, providing good paying jobs and making quality products. During that time, many U.S. industries have fallen to the unfair trade practices of Chinese competitors supported by Chinese government subsidies.

As a result of predatory trade practices, China had taken over 40% of the domestic cabinet making industry by 2019. Their cheating crippled American cabinet companies and decimated our ability to grow and supply family sustaining jobs that allow our workers to put their kids through school and buy their first home.

Fortunately, the industry and its leaders took action by filing anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce. In April 2020, after thorough investigations, the International Trade Commission found that Chinese imports had caused material injury to domestic production. The U.S. Department of Commerce issued anti-dumping duties up to 262% to hold China accountable and protect American companies and their workers.

These duties leveled the playing field and allowed cabinet manufacturing to flourish in the U.S. once again. Look no further than the Tar Heel state for proof.

In 2022 alone, Marsh is investing $4 million in new equipment and facilities which leads to the hiring of new teammates to support business growth. Less than a year ago, MasterBrand Cabinets announced a $13.5 million expansion in their Lenoir County facility that will create 450 new jobs that pay above the county average.

Lenoir County is not alone. MasterBrand also announced a new 840,000 square-foot manufacturing and distribution center in Georgia that will yield 400 new jobs. Kountry Wood Products, an Indiana based company, is moving forward with a $14 million expansion in its hometown of Nappanee, Ind.

Wellborn Cabinets is adding 200 new positions following a $15 million investment in Ashland, Ala. In the Midwest, South Dakota’s Showplace Cabinetry will have a $3 million plant expansion. On the West Coast Washington State’s Bellmont Cabinets signed a new 10-year lease and is investing heavily in its local community.

Collectively, cabinet manufacturing now supports more than 250,000 American jobs and a $12 billion industry. However, that could all change.

As you read this, the U.S. Department of Commerce is conducting its first administrative review of the 2020 duties. This review will decide whether the current duties that have supported domestic job growth and community investment can continue — or if China will be allowed to retake control and once again decimate the industry.

Unfortunately, preliminary results of Commerce’s review show the Biden administration is poised to side with China as they have assigned zero dumping margins to 16 Chinese exporters and producers. If this were to move forward, the policy change would treat China more favorably than nearly every other country in the world. It is important to note that such a policy reversal would disproportionately affect minority workers and underserved communities who represent more than 40% of the cabinetmaking workforce.

Simply put, we cannot allow China to re-enter the market through the back door, cheat the system and devastate an iconic industry that has its heart right here in the North Carolina Piedmont.

Now is the time for President Biden, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Congress to show unwavering support for American workers by standing up to China and making them answer for their nefarious trade practices.