USITC Staff Report: Quartz Surfaces from India and Turkey staff report USITC | Page 41

Changes in purchasing patterns
Most purchasers reported increasing their purchases of quartz surface products from
different sources since January 1, 2017, citing increased customer preference for quartz (table
II-8). Reasons reported for changes in sourcing included customer preference, tariffs, prices,
additional colors, improved quality, and availability. Twenty-one of 34 responding purchasers
reported that they’ve changed suppliers since January 1, 2017. Specifically, firms dropped or
reduced purchases from Chinese producers because of tariffs. *** reported switching its
purchases from China to India. Other firms noted dropping suppliers because of pricing and
assortment availability. *** reported that it added *** for unspecified reasons.
Table II-8
Quartz surface products: Changes in purchase patterns from U.S., subject, and nonsubject
countries
Did not
Source of purchases purchase Decreased Increased Constant Fluctuated
United States 7 --- 10 6 1
India 15 1 5 1 ---
Turkey 15 --- 5 1 ---
All other sources 4 5 8 4 4
Sources unknown 6 --- 5 9 2
Source: Compiled from data submitted in response to Commission questionnaires.
Importance of purchasing domestic product
Thirty-two of 34 purchasers reported that most or all of their purchases did not require
purchasing U.S.-produced product. Three reported that domestic product was required by law
(for 0.1 to 24.9 percent of their purchases), 6 reported it was required by their customers (1
firm for all purchases, 1 firm for 75.0 to 99.9 percent of purchases, 1 firm for 50.0 to 74.9
percent of purchases, and 3 firms for less than 25 percent of purchases), and 5 reported other
preferences for domestic product relating to less than half of purchases. Reasons cited for
preferring domestic product included: *** preferred a U.S.-produced color, ***, and *** cited
more availability domestically.
Comparisons of domestic products, subject imports, and nonsubject imports
Purchasers were asked a number of questions comparing quartz surface products
produced in the United States, subject countries, and nonsubject countries. First, purchasers
were asked for a country-by-country comparison on the same 19 factors (table II-9) for which
they were asked to rate the importance.
II-15