The US Department of Commerce announced on Tuesday, August 26th, that it has made a final determination on the anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) investigations on corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam, confirming the existence of dumping or unfair subsidies on these products that harm the US steel industry.
This ruling involves around $2.9 billion worth of imported steel. The Department of Commerce stated that the importation of corrosion-resistant steel significantly affects the supply in industries such as automotive, appliances, commercial and residential construction, as well as being widely used in engineering projects, thus having a significant impact on US manufacturing employment and consumers’ daily lives.
According to the ruling by the US Department of Commerce, the actual tax rates for imported corrosion-resistant steel products from these ten countries that are found to be dumped and/or subsidized are as follows:
Companies that did not respond to the investigation inquiries will be subject to adverse facts available (AFA) rates.
Overall, in this ruling, Brazil and Vietnam have the highest anti-dumping rates, reaching up to 137.76% and 110.21% respectively. Regarding countervailing duties, only Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Vietnam will be levied, while the other countries do not have countervailing duties.
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) as an independent agency will make a final determination on whether the US domestic steel industry is being harmed. If the ITC determines harm from a particular trading partner, the Department of Commerce will officially issue anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) orders at the above-mentioned rates for these countries and lawfully provide relief for the US domestic steel industry.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Trade at the Department of Commerce William Kimmitt stated, “American steel companies and workers deserve a fair competitive environment. The rates announced today demonstrate that the Trump administration is actively enforcing US trade laws and will not tolerate unfair trade practices in the US market.”
Currently, the US Department of Commerce has issued a total of 777 anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders aimed at providing relief for US companies and industries affected by unfair trade practices. Out of all the orders, 9 are targeted at corrosion-resistant steel products from China, India, Italy, Korea, and Taiwan, with 40% involving steel and related products, making it the largest category of goods.