Home > Economics BACK TO LIST U.S. determines Taiwan steel exporters' dumping practices (update)

22/07/2017 12:00 - 502 Views

Washington, July 21 (CNA) The U.S. Department of Commerce said Friday that Taiwan's steel exporters sold certain steel products to the U.S. market at unfairly low prices.

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the affirmative final ruling in the department's anti-dumping duty probe which found Taiwan exporters dumped steel concrete reinforcing bars into the U.S. market.

According to the DOC, Taiwan's firms making steel concrete reinforcing bars sold their products to the U.S. at 3.50-32.01 percent lower than fair market prices. The department made the findings based on factual evidence provided by the interested groups.

"The United States can no longer sit back and watch as its essential industries like steel are destroyed by foreign companies unfairly selling their products in the U.S. markets," Ross said in the statement.

"We will continue to take action on behalf of U.S. industry to defend American businesses, their workers, and our communities adversely impacted by unfair imports," Ross added.

The DOC said that it will instruct the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from Taiwanese vendors of steel concrete reinforcing bars at tariffs ranging between 3.50 percent and 32.01 percent.

The affected Taiwanese firms in the DOC's final ruling included Power Steel Co., Ltd. (源鋼) and Lo-Toun Steel and Iron Works Co., Ltd. (羅東鋼鐵), which faced 3.50 percent and 32.01 percent, respectively, in anti-dumping tariffs, the DOC said. The two companies were the mandatory respondents to the probe.

All other producers/exporters of steel concrete reinforcing bars from Taiwan will face a tariff of 3.50 percent, the DOC said.

A probe launched by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is underway to determine whether the U.S. industry is damaged by imports of steel concrete reinforcing bars from Taiwan.

The DOC said that if the USITC makes an affirmative final injury determination, expected on Sept. 5 or before,the department will issue an anti-dumping order .

The department said that merchandise subject to this investigation is steel concrete reinforcing bars imported in either straight length or coil form regardless of metallurgy, length, diameter, or grade.

Subject merchandise also includes deformed steel wires with bar markings and subjected to an elongation test, the department added.

In September 2016, on behalf of its individual members, the Rebar Trade Action Coalition filed a petition with the DOC, alleging steel concrete reinforcing bar vendors from Taiwan. Japan and Turkey violated the country's anti-dumping rules.

In 2016, Taiwan's exports of steel concrete reinforcing bars totaled US$53.02 million, up from US$17.57 million seen a year earlier, making the island the third largest supplier to the U.S. market, the DOC data showed.

According to the DOC, Turkey, the largest steel concrete reinforcing bar supplier to the U.S., has been slapped with anti-dumping tariffs ranging between 5 percent and 8 percent, while Japan, the second largest supplier, is faced with a financial punishment of more than 200 percent.

Source: Focus Taiwan