Members of the Stainless Steel Tube Trade Advancement Committee (SSTTAC) are on the alert with respect to imports of seamless stainless steel pipe and tube, particularly from China and Korea. The SSTTAC noted that an antidumping case was filed in the European Union in August, 2010, and an antidumping investigation was officially launched by the European Commission on September 30, 2010. The European producers which filed the case alleged that producers from the People's Republic of China are dumping the product in the European Union and causing injury to the EU producers.
"The evidence presented to the European Commission indicates that the Chinese have been dumping seamless stainless steel pipe and tube into Europe in violation of the EU trade laws. Our members believe that similar dumping is occurring in the United States market. Our members are watching developments in the EU case carefully. We respect the need for the European producers to take this action. At the same time, we are concerned that the antidumping case may encourage Chinese producers to focus more on the United States market. We are keeping a close watch on developments to see whether such diversion may cause similar injury to US producers," said David A. Hartquist, counsel to SSTTAC.
"SSTTAC members are also very concerned about the huge surge in imports from Korea. The most recent import data available, through August, 2010, shows that imports from Korea in 2010 have increased more than 700 percent over year-to-date 2009. The value of those imports has similarly increased - from about $480,000 to nearly $9 million," Hartquist said.