The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the initiation of new antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations to determine whether fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico is being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value and to find if producers in Canada, China and Mexico are receiving unfair subsidies.
These antidumping duty and countervailing duty investigations were initiated based on petitions filed by American Institute of Steel Construction Full Member Subgroup (Chicago, Illinois) on February 4, 2019.
In the AD investigation, Commerce will determine whether imports of fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico are being dumped in the U.S. market at less than fair value. The alleged dumping margins are 30.41 percent for Canada, 222.35 percent for China, and 30.58 percent for Mexico.
In the CVD investigation, Commerce will determine whether Canadian, Chinese and Mexican producers of fabricated structural steel are receiving unfair government subsidies. There are 44 subsidy programs alleged for Canada, including tax programs, grant programs, loan programs, export insurance programs and equity programs.
There are 26 subsidy programs alleged for China, including tax programs, grant programs, debt restructuring programs, export subsidy programs, as well as the provision of goods and services for less than adequate remuneration. There are 19 subsidy programs alleged for Mexico, including grant programs, tax programs, export programs, and loan programs.
If Commerce makes an affirmative finding in these investigations, and if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines that dumped and/or unfairly subsidized U.S. imports of fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico, are causing injury to the U.S. industry, Commerce will impose duties on those imports in the amount of dumping and/or unfair subsidization found to exist. In 2017, imports of fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico were valued at an estimated $658.3 million, $841.7 million, and $406.6 million, respectively.
During Commerce’s investigations into whether fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico is being dumped and/or unfairly subsidized, the ITC will conduct its own investigations into whether the U.S. industry and its workforce are being harmed by such imports.
The ITC made its preliminary determinations on March 21, 2019. If the ITC preliminarily determined that there is injury or threat of injury, then Commerce’s investigations will continue, with the preliminary CVD determinations scheduled for May 1, 2019, and preliminary AD determinations scheduled for July 15, 2019, unless these deadlines are extended.
If Commerce preliminarily determines that dumping and/or unfair subsidization is occurring, then it will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to start collecting cash deposits from all U.S. companies importing fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico. Final determinations by Commerce in these cases are scheduled for July 15, 2019, for the CVD investigations, and September 30, 2019, for the AD investigations, but those dates may be extended.
If Commerce finds that products are not being dumped and/or unfairly subsidized, or the ITC finds in its final determinations there is no harm to the U.S. industry, then the investigations will be terminated and no duties will be applied.
The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. Since the beginning of the current Administration, Commerce has initiated 143 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – this is a 249 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.
Published in the April 2019 Edition