USA ITC Ratifies Import Duties for Steel Wire Products from China

States The US International Trade Commission (US ITC) on Monday decided to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of steel rods and wire from China. According to the Commission, Chinese imports of these products harm the country's metallurgical enterprises. Therefore, the commissioners voted unanimously on this issue.

The US Department of Commerce has set dumping rates in the range of 106.19-110.25 percent for all Chinese manufacturers and exporters. The Trade Commission also found subsidies of about 178.46 percent for Hebei Iron & Steel, 193.31 percent for Benxi Steel and 185.89 percent for all other Chinese wire manufacturers and exporters.

The US ITC voted unanimously that there were no circumstances to justify the subsidy. By the way, affirmative decisions on the presence of critical circumstances have not been issued for the past few years. China's wire rod exports to the United States rose to 561,400 tonnes in 2013, up 156 percent from 219,500 tonnes in 2012 and 130 tonnes in 2011, according to the Commerce Department.

The punitive duties are imposed on the basis of complaints filed in early January 2014 by Arcelor Mittal, Charter Steel, Evraz Pueblo, Gerdau Ameristeel, Keystone and Nucor Corporation. These companies said that wire products were being sold at a lower price in the US market and that unfair government subsidies had been granted to Chinese exporters along with manufacturers.