Law360, New York (May 21, 2013, 2:39 PM ET) -- The U.S. International Trade Commission on Monday said it would investigate whether American metal producers have been injured by a recent influx of imports of stainless steel pressure pipe from Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The ITC agreed to take up an anti-dumping investigation after three U.S. steel pipe manufacturers filed a petition with the agency last week. Steel pipe imports from the three Asian countries have increased in the last three years and are being sold in the U.S. at below market value, American businesses allege.

The inquiry is intended to determine whether the U.S. industry is materially injured or is threatened with injury by foreign steel pipe imports. The ITC's findings could ultimately lead to the imposition of anti-dumping duties on steel pipe imports from Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The ITC must reach a preliminary determination in its anti-dumping investigation by July 1, unless time is extended by the Department of Commerce, which will conduct a parallel investigation. Commerce's preliminary dumping determinations are due in December, according to U.S. steel producers.

The investigation is based upon a petition filed May 16 by Bristol Metals LLC, Felker Brothers Corp. and Outokumpu Stainless Pipe, which claim welded stainless pressure pipe imported from Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam has been dumped on the U.S. market.

The companies claim that between 2010 and 2012, imports of welded stainless steel pressure pipe from those three countries increased from 14,000 tons to 17,000 tons and have taken a “significant share of a relatively stagnant U.S. market.”

The petitions allege dumping margins of between 15 percent and 17 percent for Malaysia, 13 percent to 15 percent for Thailand, and 70 percent to 71 percent for Vietnam. The ITC is scheduled to hold a staff conference on the matter in June.

Bristol Metals President Kyle Pennington said in a statement that “imports of welded stainless pressure pipe from these three countries have increased substantially over the past three years at prices well below domestic market prices.”

Pennington said the foreign imports has had a negative impact on the company's sales and forced it to decrease its prices.

Bristol Metals, a subsidiary of Synalloy Corp., was also among a group of companies that filed petitions against dumped and subsidized imports of welded stainless pipe from China. The government imposed anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Chinese welded stainless pressure pipe imports in 2009.

Representatives of Felker Brothers Corp. and Outokumpu Stainless Pipe could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

The case is Welded Stainless Steel Pressure Pipe From Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, investigation numbers 731-TA-1210-1212, in the U.S. Court of International Trade.