US imposes antidumping, countervailing duties on Chinese steel wire rod

15/12/2014 12:00 - 521 Views

The US International Trade Commission voted Monday that the domestic industry has been injured by imports of Chinese steel wire rod, and as a result, dumping margins and subsidy rates exceeding 100% will be enacted.

Kathleen Cannon, attorney at Kelley Drye and counsel for most of the petitioning US mills, said the case for the domestic steelmakers was strong, and commissioners voted unanimously that the domestic industry was injured or threatened with injury by Chinese rod imports.

"There was underselling in almost all the comparisons," Cannon said. "[The domestic mills] desperately needed this relief, and we're very pleased the commission agreed."

The US Department of Commerce found dumping margins of 106.19-110.25% for all Chinese producers and exporters with applicable cash deposit rates of 93.18-97.24%. The cash deposit rates exclude a 13.01% export subsidy rate.

Commerce also found subsidy rates of 178.46% for Hebei Iron & Steel, 193.31% for Benxi Steel and 185.89% for all other Chinese rod producers and exporters.

The ITC also voted unanimously on Monday that critical circumstances did not exist, though Commerce determined critical circumstances existed for all Chinese rod exporters in the countervailing case. If both entities had voted in the affirmative, retroactive duties dating back 90 days before the publication of Commerce's preliminary determinations would be applied.

"Record evidence showed that purchasers stockpiled increased volumes of imports from China after the case was filed. The domestic industry was not able to benefit from preliminary duties in 2014 as soon as it should have for that reason -- precisely the outcome that the critical circumstances provision was designed to address," Cannon said.

Another source close to the domestic industry said he was not surprised the ITC did not find critical circumstances because they have not made an affirmative ruling on critical circumstances in 13 years.

A trader said the ITC's determination was not surprising. "If they do not prove critical circumstances in this very clear-cut wire rod case, they will never be able to assess critical circumstances," he said. Any provisional cash deposits taken from Commerce's affirmative critical circumstances ruling would be returned to the buyers.

Commerce reported that Chinese rod exports to the United States surged 156% to 561,400 mt in 2013 from 219,500 mt in 2012. The US imported 130 mt of Chinese wire rod in 2011.

ArcelorMittal USA, Charter Steel, Evraz Pueblo, Gerdau Long Steel North America, Keystone Consolidated Industries and Nucor petitioned for the investigations on January 31.

Source: Platts