On June 3, 2015, six major U.S. steel producers filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions alleging that imports of corrosion-resistant steel from China, India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan are causing material injury to the domestic industry and that these imports are being subsidized by the governments of the exporting countries.  The Petitioners are United States Steel Corporation, Nucor Corporation, Steel Dynamics Inc., ArcelorMittal USA, AK Steel Corporation and California Steel Industries.

The petitions were submitted to both the Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).  On June 9, 2015, the ITC issued a notice that it will institute the preliminary stage of antidumping and countervailing duty investigations.  The purpose of the ITC investigation is to determine whether there is a reasonable indication that an industry in the United States is materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of the subject imports.  If that determination is affirmative, the investigations will proceed, if the determination is negative, the investigations will be terminated.

Corrosion-resistant steel is steel that has been coated or plated with a corrosion-or heat-resistant metal to prevent corrosion and thereby extend the service life of the products made from the steel. Based on these product characteristics, corrosion-resistant steel is widely used in construction applications such as roofing, siding, hardware, roof and bridge decks, guard rails, and culverts.   Corrosion-resistant steel is also used in the manufacture of automobiles, trucks, appliances, industrial equipment and agricultural equipment.  Steel coated with zinc, aluminum, or any of several zinc-aluminum alloys comprises most of the products at issue.

If the ITC and the Department of Commerce make affirmative determinations of injury and dumping, respectively, then a dumping margin will be assessed to the subject imports.  The dumping margin reflects the duty assessed on the products at importation.  The Petition alleges the following dumping margins for each country: China- 120.20 percent; India- 71.09 percent; Italy- 123.76 percent; South Korea- 80.06 percent; Taiwan- 84.40 percent.  For more information on the AD/CVD investigation process, visit the Antidumping Fundamentals page.

From 2012 to 2014, imports of corrosion resistant steel from the five subject countries increased by 85 percent, from 1.5 million tons to 2.75 million tons.  In 2014, the five subject countries exported over $2.2 billion of subject corrosion resistant steel to the United States.

If you have questions about antidumping or countervailing duty petition, invstigations or duties, please contact Frohsin & Barger at (205)-933-4006 ext. 5.