The US Department of Commerce (US DOC) has announced its final affirmative rulings that corrosion-resistant steel and certain cold rolled steel flat products imported from Vietnam produced from substrate originating in China are circumventing existing antidumping (AD) duty and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on the mentioned products imported from China. As a result, the DOC will instruct Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue collecting cash deposits on imports of corrosion-resistant steel and cold rolled steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate.
The CBP will continue to collect AD and CVD cash deposits on imports of corrosion-resistant steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate at rates of 199.43 percent and 39.05 percent, respectively. It will also collect AD and CVD cash deposits on imports of cold rolled steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate at rates of 199.76 percent and 256.44 percent, respectively. These cash deposit rates were previously established in the investigations on cold rolled steel and corrosion-resistant steel from China. Duties will apply to all shipments entering the US on or after November 4, 2016, the date the circumvention inquiries were initiated, that remain unliquidated. Meanwhile, importers and exporters of Vietnamese merchandise that is produced from substrate originating in Vietnam or a third-country have the option of seeking an exemption from cash deposits by certifying that the substrate originated outside of China.
The anti-circumvention inquiry was conducted upon the request lodged by the domestic corrosion-resistant and certain cold rolled steel producers Steel Dynamics, Inc., California Steel Industries, AK Steel Corporation, ArcelorMittal USA LLC, Nucor Corporation, and United States Steel Corporation.