US slaps anti-dumping duties on Chinese sheet, strip steel

The US Commerce Department on Monday said it had made a preliminary finding that imports of stainless steel sheet and strip from China are being dumped in the US market at below fair value.

The department set preliminary antidumping duties ranging from 63.86 per cent and 76.64 per cent, saying these were the dumping margins it had determined.

Any final decision to lock in duties would be subject to a finding by the US International Trade Commission that domestic producers had been damaged.

The companies that had sought an investigation are AK Steel Corp, Allegheny Ludlum LLC, ATI Flat Rolled Products, North American Stainless and Outokumpu Stainless USA LLC.

As a result of the preliminary affirmative determinations, the Commerce Department will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to require cash deposits based on these preliminary rates.

The Commerce Department launched antidumping duty and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations against imports of such products from China in March 2016.

The Commerce Department made its preliminary affirmative determination in the CVD investigation in July, saying that producers and exporters of such products from China had received countervailing subsidies from 57.3 per cent to 193.12 per cent.

Imports of these products from China were estimated at about $302 million in 2015, according to official US data.

The Chinese ministry of commerce has kept urging Washington to abide by its commitment against protectionism and help maintain a free, open and just international trade environment.

The Commerce Department is scheduled to make its final determinations in November this year and the USITC is slated to make its final determination in January 2017.