Wheatland Tube, a division of Zekelman Industries, commented today on the decision by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to not investigate further the company’s allegation of duty evasion against imports of Chinese circular welded pipe.
"I am disheartened by this news," said Barry Zekelman, chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, noting that the pipe is being used in solar projects, which may receive Federal tax breaks. "If Customs won't even investigate the claim, which they have the data and the ability to do, what protections are there for legitimate US manufacturers who pay US taxes and create jobs for Americans?"
Wheatland filed the first EAPA allegation on September 14, 2016, alleging that Company "X" was evading AD/CVD orders on circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe from China. Wheatland provided CBP with public import data demonstrating that the 56,774 metric tons of welded pipe imported by Company "X" from China since November 2015 were subject to the AD/CVD orders, requiring cash deposits in excess of $81.5 million.
Wheatland acknowledged that it did not have access to the confidential CBP import data that would be necessary to prove duty evasion, and urged CBP to review such data. On October 17, 2016, CBP informed Wheatland that the agency declined to initiate an investigation of the allegation against Company "X".
According to CBP, Wheatland's "allegation reasonably suggests that Company "X" imported merchandise from China that may be subject to AD/CVD order. But the allegation does not reasonably suggest that merchandise was entered through evasion. Evidence of importation, without more, is not sufficient to raise a reasonable suspicion of evasion."
The Wheatland statement said CBP “appears to have set an impossible standard for initiating EAPA investigations by requiring that domestic producers prove, not just allege, duty evasion” and “in declining to initiate an investigation of Company ‘X’, CBP gave no indication that it reviewed its own confidential import data.”
"At the very least, we would like CBP to use the data that they have already collected regarding the importing of this product to determine if duties were properly paid," said David Seeger, president of Zekelman Industries.