Today, the Rebar Trade Action Coalition (RTAC), a coalition of US rebar producers, filed petitions asking the US Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission to conduct antidumping investigations into Japanese, Taiwanese, and Turkish imports of rebar, and a countervailing duty investigation into Turkish imports of rebar.
The petitions demonstrate that Japanese, Taiwanese, and Turkish rebar producers are dumping their product into the United States at margins ranging from 86.12 percent to 206.17 percent.
In a statement, the RTAC said “As a result of increasing volumes of dumped and subsidized imports, the US rebar industry is suffering significant harm, including a decline in pricing and profits. Japanese, Taiwanese, and Turkish rebar imports increased 160 percent between 2013 and 2015, and have remained significant in 2016, causing US producers to lose substantial sales to the unfairly priced imports and forcing them to lower prices to prevent additional lost volume. US rebar producers are struggling to maintain operating levels in the face of these imports. These unfairly traded imports have also severely depressed the US industry’s capacity utilization rates.”
The petitioning companies are Bayou Steel Group, Byer Steel Group, Inc., Commercial Metals Company, Gerdau, Nucor Corporation, and Steel Dynamics, Inc.
The DOC and ITC should initiate AD and CVD investigations within three weeks of the filing date of these petitions. The ITC’s preliminary injury determination is expected in November 2016; the Department of Commerce should make its preliminary AD and CVD determinations within approximately six months. At that point, importers of Japanese, Taiwanese, and Turkish merchandise will be required to make cash deposits in the amount of the preliminary AD and CVD duties. A final determination is expected in 9 to 13 months.