On December 22, 2015, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) announced its affirmative preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) investigations of imports of corrosion- resistant steel products from China, India, Italy, and Korea, and its negative preliminary determination in the AD investigation of imports of corrosion-resistant steel products from Taiwan.
The AD law provides U.S. businesses and workers with a transparent and internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the market distorting effects caused by injurious dumping of imports into the United States, establishing an opportunity to compete on a level playing field.
For the purpose of AD investigations, dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than its fair value.
In the China investigation, the mandatory respondent, Yieh Phui (China) Technomaterial Co., Ltd., as well as the two parties which qualified for separate rates, all received a preliminary dumping margin of 255.80 percent. All other producers/exporters in China received the China-wide rate of 255.80
percent.
In the India investigation, mandatory respondents JSW Steel Ltd., and Uttam Galva Steels Limitedreceived preliminary dumping margins of 6.64 percent and 6.92 percent, respectively. All other producers/exporters in India received a preliminary dumping margin of 6.76 percent.
In the Korea investigation, mandatory respondents Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd./Union Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Hyundai Steel Company received preliminary dumping margins of 2.99 percent and 3.51 percent, respectively. All other producers/exporters in Korea received a preliminary dumping margin of 3.25 percent.
In the Taiwan investigation, mandatory respondents Yieh Phui Enterprise Co., Ltd. and Prosperity Tieh Enterprise Co., Ltd. received preliminary dumping margins of 0.00 percent. Commerce did not calculate a preliminary dumping margin for all other producers/exporters in Taiwan because it has not made an affirmative preliminary determination.
As a result of the preliminary affirmative determinations, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to require cash deposits based on these preliminary rates.
Commerce preliminary found that critical circumstances exist with respect to certain exporters from China, Korea, and Taiwan. Where critical circumstances were found, CBP will be instructed to impose provisiona l measures retroactively on entries of corrosion-resistant steel products up to 90 days prior to publication of the preliminary determinations Federal Register notice.
For producers and exporters in Taiwan, because the preliminary determination was negative, no provisional measures will be collected. For producers and exporters in Italy and India, CBP will be instructed to impose provisiona l measures on the date of publication of the preliminary determinations in the Federal Register notice.
The petitioners for these investigations are United States Steel Corporation (PA), Nucor Corporation (NC), ArcelorMittal USA (IL), AK Steel Corporation (OH), Steel Dynamics, Inc. (IN), and California Steel Industries, Inc. (CA).
The products covered by these investigations are certain flat-rolled steel products, either clad, plated, or coated with corrosion-resistant metals such as zinc, aluminum, or zinc-, aluminum-, nickel- or iron-based alloys, whether or not corrugated or painted, varnished, laminated, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances in addition to the metallic coating. The products covered include coils that have a width of 12.7 mm or greater, regardless of form of coil (e.g., in successively superimposed layers, spirally oscillating, etc.). The products covered also include products not in
coils (e.g., in straight lengths) of a thickness less than 4.75 mm and a width that is 12.7 mm or greater and that measures at least 10 times the thickness. The products covered also include products not in coils (e.g., in straight lengths) of a thickness of 4.75 mm or more and a width exceeding 150 mm and measuring at least twice the thickness. The products described above may be rectangular, square, circular, or other shape and include products of either rectangular or non-rectangular cross-section where such cross-section is achieved subsequent to the rolling process, i.e., products which have been "worked after rolling" (e.g., products which have been beveled or rounded at the edges). For purposes of the width and thickness requirements referenced above:
where the nominal and actual measurements vary, a product is within the scope if application of either the nominal or actual measurement would place it within the scope based on the definitions set forth above, and
where the width and thickness vary for a specific product (e.g., the thickness of certain products with non-rectangular cross-section, the width of certain products with non-rectangular shape, etc.), the measurement at its greatest width or thickness applies.
Steel products included in the scope of these investigations are products in which: (1) iron predominates, by weight, over each of the other contained elements; (2) the carbon content is 2 percent or less, by weight; and (3) none of the elements listed below exceeds the quantity, by weight, respectively indicated:
2.50 percent of manganese, or
3.30 percent of silicon, or
1.50 percent of copper, or
1.50 percent of aluminum, or
1.25 percent of chromium, or
0.30 percent of cobalt, or
0.40 percent of lead, or
2.00 percent of nickel, or
0.30 percent of tungsten (also called wolfram), or
0.80 percent of molybdenum, or
0.10 percent of niobium (also called columbium), or
0.30 percent of vanadium, or
0.30 percent of zirconium
Unless specifically excluded, products are included in this scope regardless of levels of boron and titanium.
For example, specifically included in this scope are vacuum degassed, fully stabilized (commonly referred to as interstitial-free (IF)) steels and high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels. IF steels are recognized as low carbon steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such as titanium and/or niobium added to stabilize carbon and nitrogen elements. HSLA steels are recognized as steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such as chromium, copper, niobium, titanium, vanadium, and molybdenum.
Furthermore, this scope also includes Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) and Ultra High Strength Steels (UHSS), both of which are considered high tensile strength and high elongation steels.
Subject merchandise also includes corrosion-resistant steel that has been further processed in a third country, including but not limited to annealing, tempering painting, varnishing, trimming, cutting, punching and/or slitting or any other processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigations if performed in the country of manufacture of the in-scope corrosion resistant steel.
All products that meet the written physical description, and in which the chemistry quantities do not exceed any one of the noted element levels listed above, are within the scope of these investigations unless specifically excluded. The following products are outside of and/or specifically excluded from the scope of these investigations:
Flat-rolled steel products either plated or coated with tin, lead, chromium, chromium oxides, both tin and lead ("terne plate"), or both chromium and chromium oxides ("tin free steel"), whether or not painted, varnished or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances in addition to the metallic coating;
Clad products in straight lengths of 4.7625 mm or more in composite thickness and of a width which exceeds 150 mm and measures at least twice the thickness; and
Certain clad stainless flat-rolled products, which are three-layered corrosion-resistant flat-rolled steel products less than 4.75 mm in composite thickness that consist of a flat-rolled steel product clad on both sides with stainless steel in a 20%-60%-20% ratio.
The products subject to the investigations are currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under item numbers: 7210.30.0030, 7210.30.0060, 7210.41.0000,
7210.49.0030, | 7210.49.0091, | 7210.49.0095, | 7210.61.0000, | 7210.69.0000, | 7210.70.6030, |
7210.70.6060, | 7210.70.6090, | 7210.90.6000, | 7210.90.9000, | 7212.20.0000, | 7212.30.1030, |
7212.30.1090, | 7212.30.3000, | 7212.30.5000, | 7212.40.1000, | 7212.40.5000, | 7212.50.0000, and |
7212.60.0000. |
The products subject to the investigations may also enter under the following HTSUS item numbers:
7210.90.1000, | 7215.90.1000, | 7215.90.3000, | 7215.90.5000, | 7217.20.1500, | 7217.30.1530, |
7217.30.1560, | 7217.90.1000, | 7217.90.5030, | 7217.90.5060, | 7217.90.5090, | 7225.91.0000, |
7225.92.0000, | 7225.99.0090, | 7226.99.0110, | 7226.99.0130, | 7226.99.0180, | 7228.60.6000, |
7228.60.8000, and 7229.90.1000.
The HTSUS subheadings above are provided for convenience and customs purposes only. The written description of the scope of the investigations is dispositive.
In 2014, imports of corrosion-resistant steel products from China, India, Italy, Korea, and Taiwan were valued at an estimated $685 million, $380 million, $99 million, $417 million, and $578 million, respectively.
NEXT STEPSCommerce is currently scheduled to announce its final determination in the Taiwan investigation on or about March 8, 2016; unless the statutory deadline is extended. Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determinations in the China, India, Italy, and Korea investigations on or about May 10, 2016. These final determinations have been extended fully.
If Commerce makes affirmative final determinations, and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) makes affirmative final determinations that imports of corrosion-resistant steel products from China, India, Italy, Korea, and/or Taiwan materially injure, or threaten material injury to, the domestic industry, Commerce will issue AD orders. If either Commerce's or the ITC's final determinations are negative, no AD orders will be issued. The ITC is currently scheduled to make its final injury determinations in April 2016 for Taiwan and June 2016 for China, India, Italy, and Korea.
ITA - International Trade Administration issued this content on 2015-12-22 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 2016-01-04 19:29:35 UTC
Original Document: http://enforcement.trade.gov/download/factsheets/factsheet-multiple-corrosion-resistant-steel-products-122215.pdf