Some US-based mills including Steel Dynamics, Nucor Corporation and US Steel have filed a petition to the US Department of Commerce to initiate an antidumping investigation on imports of corrosion-resistant (CORE) flat rolled steel from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. The petitioners are also asking for a countervailing duty investigation on the given products from Brazil, Canada, Mexico and Vietnam.
The petitioners alleged that the imports from the given countries have materially injured the US domestic industry and threaten to cause further injury in the absence of any measure. In addition, capacity increase investments in the given countries have raised concerns over increased exports to the US from these countries. For example, Turkish steelmaker Tat Metal Çelik has recently announced that it will increase its galvanized steel capacity with the commissioning of a new 650,000 mt line, almost doubling its existing galvanized production capacity of 800,000 mt.
Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal Brazil recently completed an investment to increase the galvanizing capacity at its Vega do Sul plant from an annual 1.6 million mt to 2.2 million mt, while Ternium Mexico’s new galvanizing line investment with an annual production capacity of 600,000 mt is expected to commence production in 2025. In addition, Vietnam-based Nam Kim Steel is investing in a new 1.2 million mt galvanized steel plant that will be completed in 2026.
The products currently fall under the codes 7210.30.0030, 7210.30.0060, 7210.41.0000, 7210.49.0030, 7210.49.0040, 7210.49.0045, 7210.49.0091, 7210.49.0095, 7210.61.0000, 7210.69.0000, 7210.70.6030, 7210.70.6060, 7210.70.6090, 7210.90.6000, 7210.90.9000, 7212.20.0000, 7212.30.1030, 7212.30.1090, 7212.30.3000, 7212.30.5000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000, 7212.60.0000, 7225.91.0000, 7225.92.0000, 7226.99.0110, and 7226.99.0130.