The United States International Trade Commission (US ITC) has determined recently that there is a reasonable indication that a US industry is materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of certain steel wheels from China that are allegedly subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value. As a result of the ITC's affirmative determinations, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) will continue to conduct its countervailing and antidumping duty investigations on imports of these products from China, with its preliminary countervailing duty determination due on or about June 23, 2011, and its preliminary antidumping duty determination due on or about September 6, 2011.
The steel wheels subject to these investigations range from 18 to 24.5 inches in diameter, and include rims and discs whether imported as an assembly or separately. These steel wheels are typically used in commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses, trailers, and fire trucks.
On March 30, 2011 a petition was filed with the US ITC and and US DOC by Accuride Corp. (Evansville, IN) and Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. (Northville, MI), alleging that an industry in the United States is materially injured or theatened with material injury by reason of less than fair value (LTFV) and subsidized imports of certain steel wheels from China. Accordingly, effective March 30, 2011, the US ITC instituted a countervailing duty investigation and antidumping duty investigation.