Commerce finds steel wire rod dumped on U.S. market

The Commerce Department has preliminarily determined that steel wire rod from Italy, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom are being dumped on the U.S. market and will begin imposing duties on those imports.    The Commerce Department has preliminarily determined that steel wire rod from Italy, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom are being dumped on the U.S. market and will begin imposing duties on those imports.
   Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells its products in the United States at less than fair value.
   In its Italy investigation, Commerce found that exports of steel rod were dumped in the United States at margins of 22.06 percent for Ferriere Nord S.p.A and 22.06 percent for Ferriera Valsider S.p.A. Other Italian producers/exporters were also assigned a preliminary dumping rate of 22.06 percent.
   Commerce found during its South Korea investigation that steel rod exporter POSCO dumped its products in the United States at margins of 10.09 percent. It assigned the same preliminary dumping margin to all other South Korean producers/exporters of steel rod.
   In its South Africa investigation, Commerce found that consolidated companies Scaw Metals Group and Consolidated Wire Industries dumped steel rod on the U.S. market at margins of 142.26 percent. The department assigned a dumping margin of 135.46 to all other South African producers/exporters of steel rod.
   Commerce found during its Spain investigation that steel rod exporters dumped their products in the United States at margins of 20.25 percent for Global Steel Wire, CELSA Atlantic SA, and Compania Espanola de Laminacion, and 32.64 percent for ArcelorMittal Espana S.A. The rest of the country’s steel rod producers/exporters have been assigned a preliminary dumping rate of 20.25 percent.
   In Commerce’s Turkey investigation, it found that exporters dumped wire rod in the United States at margins of 2.80 percent (Habas Sinai ve Tibbi Gazlar Istihsal Endustrisi A.S.) and 8.01 percent (Icdas Celik Enerji Tersane ve Ulasim Sanayi A.S.). All other Turkish steel rod producers/exporters were assigned a preliminary dumping rate of 5.41 percent.
   Commerce assigned a preliminary dumping rate of 44.03 on Ukraine steel rod exporters ArcelorMittal Steel Kryvyi Rih OJSC and Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) Yenakiieve Steel. With the exception of Duferco S.A., all other Urkraine producers/exports of steel rod were assigned a preliminary dumping rate of 34.98 percent.
   The department in its United Kingdom investigation preliminarily determined that steel rod exporters British Steel Ltd. and Longs Steel UK Ltd. had dumping rates of 41.96 percent and 147.63 percent, respectively. All other U.K. producers/exporters of steel rod were assigned a preliminary dumping rate of 41.96 percent.
   Commerce said it has instructed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits from importers of wire rod from these countries based on these preliminary rates.
   In 2016, U.S. steel rod imports from Italy, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom were valued at $12.2 million, $45.6 million, $7.1 million, $40.7 million, $41.4 million, $55 million, and $20.5 million, respectively.
   The petitioners for the steel rod antidumping duty investigations included Gerdau Ameristeel US of Florida, Nucor Corp. in North Carolina, Keystone Consolidated Industries in Texas, and Charter Steel of Wisconsin.
   Commerce is scheduled to announce its final antidumping duty determinations for these investigations by Jan. 9, 2018
   The U.S. International Trade Commissions (ITC) is conducting parallel investigations to determine if these steel rod imports have harmed U.S. producers. If Commerce’s final determinations are affirmative, and the ITC similarly makes affirmative final injury determinations, the department will issue antidumping orders. If the ITC does not find that U.S. producers have been harmed, then the investigations will end and no duties will be collected.