U.S. Steel Producers Say Chinese Rivals Ducking Anti-Dumping Fees

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Four major U.S. steel producers--ArcelorMittal USA (East Chicago, Indiana); Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) (Charlotte, North Carolina), AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) (West Chester, Ohio) and United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)--say they will file petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce charging that unfairly traded imports from China are circumventing the anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders recently imposed by the department. The companies specifically cited imports of corrosion-resistant carbon steel and cold-rolled carbon steel. Industrial Info is tracking $335.9 million in active, U.S.-based projects involving the four companies.

The companies say Chinese producers are diverting shipments through Vietnam to avoid U.S. import tariffs. Earlier this month, the Department of Commerce set preliminary antidumping duties, ranging from 63.86% to 76.64%, on stainless steel sheet and strip imports from China; the petition alleges that the producers diverted shipments "immediately" after the duties were imposed, according to Reuters.

Earlier this summer, domestic steelmakers benefited when the U.S. handed down another set of anti-dumping measures on imports, including those from China. Among other results, improved business helped Nucor with a major acquisition. For more information, see Industrial Info's September 20, 2016, article - Nucor Acquires Steel-Tubing Producer as Anti-Dumping Measures Boost Steelmakers, and August 1, 2016, article - U.S. Steel Producers Show Improved Results.

Among the largest growth projects being pursued by the four U.S. steel producers are ArcelorMittal's $80 million in blast furnace improvements at its steel works plant in Burns Harbor, Indiana, and Nucor's $75 million upgrade to its steel mill in Armorel, Arkansas. The ArcelorMittal project involves rebuilding and relining the 5,000-ton-per-week Blast Furnace C at the 5 million-ton-per-year steel works facility, while the Nucor project involves installing a quench and self-tempering process to the 1.4 million-ton-per-year rolling mill at the 2.5 million-ton-per-year steel mill.

The move comes as China is upping the ante for competition. State-run Baosteel Group is expected to take over Wuhan Steel Group, also state-run, to create the world's second-largest steelmaker behind ArcelorMittal. Industrial Info is tracking $32.4 billion in projects involving Baosteel and Wuhan, including the largest steel-related project under construction in China: the $10 billion construction of an iron and steel mill in Fangchenggang, which Wuhan is managing. The project, which is expected to be completed late next year, is expected to produce 10 million tons per year of flat steel. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

China, for its part, has leveled its own anti-dumping measures against the U.S. Earlier this month, China said it would put duties on distillers' dried grains from major companies such as Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and Louis Dreyfus. China's ethanol producers had complained that their U.S. counterparts were unfairly benefiting from subsidies, according to Reuters.

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