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US steel makers file antidumping, counter-vailing duty petitions

West Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel has joined other major domestic steel producers in filing antidumping and counter-vailing duty petitions against eight countries related to cold-rolled steel. 

The antidumping petitions charge that unfairly traded imports of cold-rolled steel from Brazil, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, Russia and the United Kingdom are causing material injury to AK Steel and the domestic steel industry. The counter-vailing duty petitions charge that significant subsidies have been provided to the foreign producers by the governments of Brazil, China, India, South Korea, and Russia.

AK Steel produces cold-rolled steel for various customer applications, including appliances, automotive products, containers, and construction. The company says cold-rolled steel comprised approximately 20 percent of its shipments in 2014.

"AK Steel and the domestic industry have been facing a surge of what we believe are unfairly dumped and subsidized imports of cold-rolled steel coming into this country," says James L. Wainscott, chairman, president and CEO of AK Steel.  "The negative impact to our company and to other U.S. producers has been significant in terms of pricing, production, sales and earnings."

AK Steel was joined in filing the petitions by Arcelor Mittal USA LLC, Nucor Corp., Steel Dynamics Inc. and United States Steel Corp. The petitions were filed June 28, 2015, with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The eight countries included in the antidumping petitions and the dumping margins alleged by AK Steel and the domestic industry are:

  • Brazil,  50 percent to 59.74 percent;
  • China, 265.98 percent;
  • India, 42.28 percent;
  • Japan, 82.58 percent;
  • South Korea, 93.32 percent to 176.13 percent;
  • Netherlands, 47.36 percent to 136.46 percent;
  • Russia, 69.12 percent to 320.45 percent; and
  • United Kingdom, 47.64 percent to 84.34 percent.

The petitions also allege that the foreign producers benefit from numerous counter-vailable subsidies. 

The petitions were filed in response to large and increasing volumes of low-priced imports of cold-rolled steel from the subject countries over the past three years that have injured AK Steel and other U.S. producers, AK Steel says. Imports of cold-rolled steel from the eight countries targeted by this case increased by 120 percent between 2012 and 2014, reaching 1.75 million tons from 798,000 tons.  These imports increased further from January to May of 2015, AK Steel says, when compared with the same period in 2014, growing from 548,835 tons to 790,361 tons. In 2014, these countries exported more than $1.2 billion of cold-rolled steel to the United States, the company says.

The petitions allege that producers in the subject countries have injured AK Steel and others in the domestic industry by selling their products at unfairly low prices that significantly undercut the prices of U.S. producers. As a result, imports of cold-rolled steel have captured an increasing share of the U.S. market at the direct expense of AK Steel and the U.S. industry, the petitioners say.

Antidumping duties are intended to offset the amount by which a product is sold at less than fair value, or "dumped," in the United States. The margin of dumping is calculated by the Commerce Department, AK Steel explains.  Estimated duties in the amount of the dumping are collected from importers at the time of importation. 

Counter-vailing duties are intended to offset unfair subsidies that are provided by foreign governments and benefit the production of a particular good.  The USITC, an independent agency, will determine whether the domestic industry is materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of the unfairly traded imports, the company says.

AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, primarily for automotive, infrastructure and manufacturing, construction and electrical power generation and distribution markets. Headquartered in Greater Cincinnati, the company employs approximately 8,000 men and women at eight steel plants, two coke plants and two tube manufacturing plants across Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. 

Source: Recycling Today
US steel makers file antidumping, counter-vailing duty petitions
West Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel has joined other major domestic steel producers in filing antidumping and counter-vailing duty petitions against eight countries related to cold-rolled steel.  The antidumping petitions charge that unfairly traded imports of cold-rolled steel from Brazil, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, Russia and the United Kingdom are causing material injury to AK Steel and the domestic steel industry. The counter-vailing duty petitions charge that significant subsidies have been provided to the foreign producers by the governments of Brazil, China, India, South Korea, and Russia. AK Steel produces cold-rolled steel for various customer applications, including appliances, automotive products, containers, and construction. The company says cold-rolled steel comprised approximately 20 percent of its shipments in 2014. "AK Steel and the domestic industry have been facing a surge of what we believe are unfairly dumped and subsidized imports of cold-rolled steel coming into this country," says James L. Wainscott, chairman, president and CEO of AK Steel.  "The negative impact to our company and to other U.S. producers has been significant in terms of pricing, production, sales and earnings." AK Steel was joined in filing the petitions by Arcelor Mittal USA LLC, Nucor Corp., Steel Dynamics Inc. and United States Steel…

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