U.S. Slams Steel Imports from Vietnam that Started in China

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--U.S. steel producers are lauding the Department of Commerce's ruling against imports of Vietnamese steel products that originated in China.

The department announced preliminary rulings on Tuesday that corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) and certain cold-rolled steel flat products (cold-rolled steel) imported from Vietnam, but produced from substrate originating in China, circumvent existing antidumping and countervailing duty orders on CORE and cold-rolled steel imported from China. As a result, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will begin collecting cash deposits on imports of CORE and cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate.

Shipments of CORE from Vietnam to the U.S. jumped from $2 million to $80 million after preliminary duties were imposed on Chinese products in 2015, the Commerce Department said. Cold-rolled steel shipments from Vietnam to the U.S. skyrocketed from $9 million to $215 million after preliminary duties were imposed on Chinese products that same year.

Importers and exporters of Vietnamese steel that is produced from substrate originating in Vietnam or a third country have the option of seeking an exemption from import cash deposits by certifying that the substrate originated outside of China, the Commerce Department said.

The Commerce Department made the ruling following inquiries by Steel Dynamics Incorporated (NASDAQ:STLD) (Fort Wayne, Indiana), California Steel Industries (Fontana, California), AK Steel Holding Corporation (NSYE:AKS) (West Chester, Ohio), ArcelorMittal USA LLC (East Chicago, Indiana) (part of ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE:MT) (Luxembourg, Luxembourg)), Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) (Charlotte, North Carolina) and United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel) (NYSE:X) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). The Commerce Department said it would announce its final determinations on the inquiries on February 16.

"The Commerce Department's finding of circumvention represents a critical step to shutting down one of the many paths used to flood the U.S. with dumped and subsidized steel," U.S. Steel said in a press statement. The company urged the department and the Trump administration to "continue to aggressively crack down on unfairly traded steel imports, including immediate and broad action in the Section 232 investigation on steel imports and national security."

The Trump administration ordered an investigation by the Department of Commerce into whether steel imports posed a national security threat under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The probe could lead to tariffs or quotas on steel imports. The deadline for the Department to submit its findings is in mid-January.

Some U.S. steel producers have complained that imports have risen this year ahead of the potential findings of the Section 232 investigation. Steel imports for the first 10 months of this year were up 19% from the same period last year, the American Iron Steel Institute reported on November 27. Total and finished steel imports were 32,850,000 and 25,449,000 net tons, up 19.4% and 15.4% respectively, versus the same period in 2016. For more information, see October 20, 2017, article - Steel Dynamics, Nucor Rail Against Steel Imports as Earnings Decline.

Despite the import situation, companies like ArcelorMittal forecasted favorable market conditions for the remainder of this year, and U.S. Steel plans to ramp up its flat-rolled asset revitalization program in 2018. For more information, see November 13, 2017, article - ArcelorMittal Forecasts Favorable Steel Market for Remainder of 2017, and November 21, 2017, article - U.S. Steel to Ramp Up Revitalization Program in 2018.

In November, the Commerce Department said it was launching antidumping duty and countervailing duty investigations into aluminum sheet imports from China. The investigations mark the first time in more than 25 years that the department has self-initiated such probes. For related information, see November 29, 2017, article - U.S. Commerce Department Probes Imports of China Aluminum Sheet.

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