Following last week's filing of the US pipe producers' antidumping and countervailing duties petition against standard and structural steel pipe from China, more information has become available, such as the alleged dumping margins, and the scope of the products covered under the investigation, and also the deadlines for entering the subject merchandise without AD-CVD duties.
The petitioners allege dumping margins ranging from 70.89 to 88.00 percent, with injury allegations that the petitioners' capacity, shipments, employment, and financial performance have all declined from 2004 through 2006.
The scope of the investigation covers certain welded carbon quality steel pipe and tubes, of a circular cross section, and with an outside diameter of 0.372 inch (9.45 mm) or more, but not more than 16 inches (406.4mm), stenciled or not, regardless of wall thickness, surface finish (such as black, galvanized, painted), end finish (such as plain end, beveled end, grooved, threaded, or threaded and coupled), or industry specification (like ASTM, proprietary, or other), commonly referred to as standard pipe and structural pipe, though they may also be referred to as circular, structural, or mechanical tubing.
The term "carbon quality steel" includes both carbon steel and carbon steel mixed with small amounts of alloying elements.
All pipes that meet the above description, and are intended for use in standard and structural pipe applications are included in the investigation. Standard pipe applications include low-pressure conveyance of water, steam, natural gas, air, and other liquids and gases in plumbing and heating systems, air conditioning units, automatic sprinkler systems, and other related uses. Other standard pipe uses include light load-bearing and mechanical applications, such as fence tubing, and as an intermediate product for protection of electrical wiring, such as conduit shelves, or in any other construction applications.
Standard pipe is made primarily to ASTM specifications A-53, A-135, and A-795. Structural pipe is made primarily to ASTM specifications A-252 and A-500. Pipe multiple-stenciled to an ASTM specification and to any other specification, such as the American Petroleum Institute (API) API-5L or 5L X-42 specifications, is covered within the scope of the investigation when used in, or intended for use in one of the above standard applications.
The scope does not include the following products: pipe for use in boilers, superheaters, heat exchangers, condensers, refining furnaces, and feedwater heaters; mechanical tubing, whether or not cold-drawn, that the Department determines is properly classifiable under HTSUS 7306.30.50.15 or HTSUS 7306.30.50.20; finished electrical conduit; OCTG produced to API specifications; and line pipe produced to API specifications for oil and gas applications.
As for the deadlines for importing these materials without AD/CVD duties, the date could be as soon as June 7, 2007, the date of filing, with retroactive duties imposed at a later time, and as late as November 5, 2007, depending on if there are "critical" or "normal" circumstances, and if there is a "normal" or "extended" schedule.