Three major US steel producers—ArcelorMittal USA, Nucor Corporation, and SSAB Enterprises—today filed petitions charging that unfairly-traded imports of certain carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate (CTL plate) from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, Taiwan and Turkey are causing material injury to the domestic industry. The petitions allege that producers in each of the twelve countries are dumping CTL plate in the US market at sizeable margins:
Austria: 158.27 percent
Belgium: 75.27 percent
Brazil: 93.32 percent
China: 76.58 percent
France: 28.84 – 121.62 percent
Germany: 43.09 - 194.50 percent
Italy: 127.04 percent
Japan: 187.70 percent
South Korea: 42.59 – 244.19 percent
South Africa: 109.09 percent
Taiwan: 6.53 – 74.24 percent
Turkey: 36.09 – 52.09 percent
Belgium: 75.27 percent
Brazil: 93.32 percent
China: 76.58 percent
France: 28.84 – 121.62 percent
Germany: 43.09 - 194.50 percent
Italy: 127.04 percent
Japan: 187.70 percent
South Korea: 42.59 – 244.19 percent
South Africa: 109.09 percent
Taiwan: 6.53 – 74.24 percent
Turkey: 36.09 – 52.09 percent
The petitions also allege that the Governments of Brazil, China, and South Korea are providing countervailable subsidies to producers of CTL plate. The petitions identify 26 different subsidy programs in Brazil, 44 subsidy programs in China, and 46 subsidy programs in South Korea.
Imports targeted by this case account for over 75 percent of total imports in 2015. The volume of subject imports surged by over 100 percent from 2013 to 2015, rising from 572,000 tons to 1.2 million tons. Imports from the twelve countries captured an increasing share of the U.S. market over the past three years at the direct expense of competing domestic producers, according to the petitions.
The US Department of Commerce will determine whether to initiate the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations within 20 days of today’s filing of the petitions and the US ITC will reach a preliminary determination of material injury or threat of material injury within 45 days of today’s filing. The entire investigative process will take approximately one year, with final determinations of dumping, subsidization, and injury likely occurring in the spring of 2017.