Turkish rebars under renewed trade spotlight

Under the auspices of their Rebar Trade Action Coalition (RTAC) US rebar mills have asked the US Department of Commerce (USDOC) to probe imports of Turkish rebars in view of the Turkish government's finding of price collusion among Turkish rebar producers. Turkish rebars have been under a dumping order for a number of years. Through annual reviews most Turkish rebar mills have brought down their dumping penalty to either zero or else to a very low and manageable level. Turkey is still the largest foreign supplier of rebars to the US. Recently, the Turkish government concluded an investigation that detailed cases of price collusion and cost suppression by Turkish rebar mills between 1995 and 2005. The RTAC now claims that the data used during the original dumping investigation was tainted since Turkish rebar producers never disclosed the ongoing investigation to USDOC. RTAC wants USDOC to launch a probe into Turkish rebars all over again. Though it is too early to tell if any adverse changes in the dumping margins will be made, this could turn out to be a serious matter for the 15 Turkish rebar mills in question. USDOC has reversed dumping rulings in the past when they found the collected cost and market data to be contaminated.