Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute

On February 8, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made final determinations that Blue Star Global, Inc. d.b.a. Blue Star Casting of Glendale California and Lino International Inc. of Flushing New York have been evading U.S. antidumping and countervailing orders on cast iron soil pipe and fittings from China by claiming that their imports had been produced in Cambodia by Hicreek Plumbing Co Read more

On February 8, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made final determinations that Blue Star Global, Inc. d.b.a. Blue Star Casting of Glendale California and Lino International Inc. of Flushing New York have been evading U.S. antidumping and countervailing orders on cast iron soil pipe and fittings from China by claiming that their imports had been produced in Cambodia by Hicreek Plumbing Co., Ltd.

Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute, Chinese pipe and fittings exporters, CISPI, U.S. antidumping and countervailing orders

CBP found that Hicreek was set up by Chinese pipe and fittings exporters to disguise the origin of the products. CBP’s investigators nevertheless were able to trace shipments of pipe and fittings from China through Hicreek to Blue Star and Lino and went on location in Cambodia to discover that Hicreek was not producing these products as claimed. CBP further found that Lino was an active agent in the evasion and had been making misleading statements to its customers, including Blue Star, regarding imported products. CBP also discovered that Lino set up an additional shell corporation in New York in an attempt to hide from CBP further imports from Hicreek.

Imports by Blue Star and Lino will be subject to the antidumping and anti-subsidy duties imposed on cast iron soil pipe and fittings from China, and there may be further penalties and charges according to CBP’s rulings.

“We applaud U.S. Customs and Border Protection for their hard work and diligent efforts to stop cheating and evasion of U.S. antidumping and countervailing duties on cast iron soil pipe and fittings from China,” stated David Parney, Executive Director of the Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute (CISPI). “We brought these cases in order to protect the U.S. industry and its workers from unfairly traded imports, and it is critical to ensure that these orders are not evaded through false claims that Chinese pipe and fittings were made in Cambodia. CISPI supports strong actions against this evasion and will continue to work with Customs to take action against other evasion schemes.”

These investigations into the transshipment of Chinese merchandise to avoid U.S. fair trade laws occurred under the Enforce and Protect Act, which provides enhanced tools to CBP to investigate evidence of evasion of U.S. duties. The investigations into Blue Star and Lino’s actions were initiated from information submitted by CISPI that alerted CBP to the evasion earlier this year.

The Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute (CISPI) is pleased to announce the launch of its new brand identity. The new logo and supporting brand assets were updated to introduce a new generation of plumbing engineers, designers, code officials, contractors and installers to the Institute. Designed by Agency McKenna in Chicago, IL, the new brand identity Read more

The Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute (CISPI) is pleased to announce the launch of its new brand identity. The new logo and supporting brand assets were updated to introduce a new generation of plumbing engineers, designers, code officials, contractors and installers to the Institute.

Designed by Agency McKenna in Chicago, IL, the new brand identity fits into the Institute’s larger marketing communications strategy to build broad-scale awareness within the building and construction industry. Because the Institute communicates with a variety of audiences, it was especially important to create branding that was easily recognizable. The specification and implementation of cast iron soil pipe products involves a myriad of groups in the supply chain, including building owners, contractors and commercial plumbing professionals.

The new identity incorporates a bright red and blue color scheme that reinforces the Institute’s “Made in America” heritage and represents the CISPI member companies that manufacture cast iron soil pipe products domestically. The energetic use of color and multidimensional curves brings vibrancy to the “C I” trademark. The updated tagline, “CISPI – The Mark of Quality” emphasizes the product’s high-quality manufacture found only in American-made products. The new branding has a distinctly modern feel with continuity to the Institute’s past logo designs.

Dave Parney, CISPI Executive Vice President, was especially pleased with the new look. “I am very proud to announce the launch of our new brand. I believe our new branding is distinctive enough to appeal to younger audiences, but will still resonate with the seasoned industry professionals who have known the CISPI brand for years.”

CISPI Board of Director, Francesca Dunbar, continues, “Our new branding supports the Institute’s current priorities and highlights the quality that the Institute has maintained for years. It will be an important asset for us as we look to expand our reach to new audiences across the country.”