US launches antidumping probe of Indian pipe

OREANDA-NEWS. October 06, 2015. The US International Trade Commission has launched an investigation to determine whether US industry is being materially harmed by alleged dumping and subsidizing of imports of welded stainless steel pressure pipe from India.

The probe was begun in reaction to a petition filed on 30 September by Bristol Metals, Felker Brothers, Marcegaglia USA and Outokumpu. The probe started the same day.

The commission has a 16 November deadline to reach a preliminary determination in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigation. After that the Department of Commerce will continue the probe to make countervailing duty and countervailing duty determinations.

Antidumping duties are meant to offset the amount by which a product is sold at less than fair value, while countervailing duties are intended to offset unfair subsidies provided by foreign governments.

The trade commission on 24 September found there was reasonable indication that a US industry is materially injured by imports of certain hot-rolled steel flat products from Australia, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Turkey and the UK. The finding set the stage for the Department of Commerce to make a countervailing duty determination of 4 November and a preliminary antidumping duty determination by 18 January.

The trade panel on 10 September voted to continue investigation of cold rolled flat steel products from Brazil, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the UK. It decided to terminate its probe of imports of those products from the Netherlands.