American producers of dried tart cherries make a reasonable case that they are being injured by imports from Turkey, the U.S. International Trade Commission determined in June.

That ruling means the Department of Commerce will continue its antidumping and countervailing duty investigation into Turkey’s tart cherry production, with preliminary decisions expected in the coming months.

The case was brought by five producers of dried cherries, who believe that government subsidies allow Turkish farmers to produce and export cherries at less than a fair value, undercutting American growers and producers.

Fighting back against low-cost imports has become an industry priority in recent years.

Tart cherry growers may also benefit from the Department of Commerce’s decision late last year to remove Turkish cherries from the Generalized System of Preferences program that allowed the country, and other developing countries, to import a wide variety of goods duty-free.

—by Kate Prengaman

Related: Tart growers target Turkey