Industry News

New AD/CVD Petitions on Truck Bed Covers from China

Feb. 27, 2026
By: Austin J. Eighan


On February 25, a coalition of domestic manufacturers filed petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to initiate antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CVD) duty investigations on imports of truck bed covers from China. Noting that “all imports of truck bed covers originate from either China or Mexico,” the petitioners focused their requests on China, stating that it “represent[s] approximately 97.9 percent of total imports in 2025.”

The petitioners described the truck bed covers at issue, also known as “tonneau covers,” as serving various functional purposes, such as securing truck bed contents from theft, enhancing accessibility, and providing weather resistance. The proposed scope of the investigations specifically covers merchandise meeting the following description:

[T]ruck bed covers (“TBCs”), which are protective shields made of aluminum, fiberglass, carbon fiber, plastic, and/or water-resistant fabric that are sized to span the open-top area of a pickup truck. When fully assembled, truck bed covers have a width between 45 and 75 inches (actual) and a length between 55 and 100 inches (actual), and can be used to secure the cargo area of a pickup truck and/or repel water.

TBCs typically encompass four general configurations — i.e., folding, roll-up, one-piece, and retractable. The scope of the petitions includes not only the cover material, but also any hardware for the mounting or storage of the cover (e.g., rails, latches, straps, clasps, clamps, nuts, bolts, washers, screws, hitch pins, weather strips/seals/gaskets) or other parts (e.g., locks, struts, drain tubes, canisters, motors), provided that such items accompany the cover at the time of importation or are otherwise invoiced together with the cover.

Excluded from the scope are truck caps (also known as camper shells, toppers, or canopies), which are enclosures that can be mounted on truck bed rails to extend the height of a truck bed by at least 12 inches (actual), thus creating a fully-enclosed, lockable storage area for cargo.

Also excluded from the scope of the petitions are any products already covered by the scope of any extant antidumping and/or countervailing duty orders, including Aluminum Extrusions from the People’s Republic of China: Antidumping Duty Order, 76 Fed. Reg. 30650 (May 26, 2011), and Aluminum Extrusions from the People’s Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order, 76 Fed. Reg. 30653 (May 26, 2011).

The products subject to the petitions are currently classifiable under subheading 8708.29.5160 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of the petitions is dispositive.

The petitioners calculated average dumping margins of 150.74% – 274.47%, which could serve as the AD duty rate if Commerce and the ITC affirmatively find that imports “are causing, and are threatening to cause material injury to the domestic industry.” The petitions did not include a specific CVD rate.

Commerce’s International Trade Administration will have 20 days from the date on which the petitioners submitted their request to decide whether to launch an investigation. The ITC will also issue its preliminary determinations within 45 days.If Commerce issues affirmative preliminary determinations, importers must begin posting AD/CVD cash deposits on all entries of in-scope truck bed covers imported on or after the date on which Commerce publishes its decision in the Federal Register. Certain circumstances can also trigger AD/CVD liability for entries made up to three months earlier. Commerce may revise these preliminary rates when it issues the final determinations.

Interested parties wishing to file comments of industry support must do so no later than March 10, 2026, with rebuttal comments then due on March 12, 2026. If your company has concerns about the scope of the case, managing imports during the course of the investigations, or would like to submit a comment, please reach out to one of our attorneys at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn.