Government/Policy
USITC Finds Injury in China and Japan Cold-Rolled Steel Case
Written by Sandy Williams
June 23, 2016
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced today (June 22, 2016) that it finds that unfairly priced and subsidized imports of cold-rolled steel flat products from China and Japan have hurt U.S. steel producers.
All six commissioners voted in the affirmative. As a result, the antidumping and countervailing duties determined by the DOC in their final decision on May 17 will be issued by Commerce.
The ITC, unlike the Department of Commerce (DOC), did not find critical circumstances in regards to these imports and, as a result, the goods will not be subject to retroactive countervailing or antidumping duties.
Subject to final adjustment, the following dumping margins and subsidy rates determined by the DOC in May, after the companies under investigation failed to respond to Commerce’s request for information, will now be collected. 
The original complaint against the steel producers in China and Japan was filed in July 2015 by US Steel, AK Steel, ArcelorMittal USA, Nucor, and Steel Dynamics Inc. The DOC is expected to issue its final decision with respect to the remaining countries (Brazil, India, Korea, Russia, and the United Kingdom) in July and the ITC will then make a separate injury determination on those countries.
The products included in these investigations are certain cold rolled, flat rolled steel products, whether or not annealed, painted, varnished or coated with plastic or other non-metallic substances.
Response to ITC Decision
United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard said the USW will continue to fight for American jobs and to change U.S. trade policies to ensure a fair trade approach. Gerard released the following statement on the ITC decision:
“Today’s vote signals to steelworkers that more help is on the way. They have been watching as foreign competitors targeted the products they made and the jobs they held by subsidizing and dumping imports into our market. They have waited far too long — almost a year since this case was filed — for the deserved relief that they so desperately needed along with restoration of fair market conditions.
“Our companies and workers play by the rules. Too many of our competitors illegally employ actions that undermine our markets and take our jobs. Today’s decision addresses an important product segment in our domestic steel sector. But, because of the way our laws work, other affirmative final decisions by the ITC will be needed to provide relief to thousands of other workers. Without a comprehensive approach by our government, we have to cobble together relief. This is time consuming, expensive and unfair to those whose jobs have been under attack.”
ArcelorMittal USA called the USITC decision “a victory for the steel industry.”
Jim Baske, CEO, ArcelorMittal North America said, “ArcelorMittal is pleased with today’s final ruling regarding anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations on cold-rolled steel imports from China and Japan. We applaud the work done by the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) to address unfairly traded imports and level the playing field.”
John Ferriola, President and CEO, Nucor Corp. said, “These final determinations by the International Trade Commission confirm that the U.S. steel industry has suffered harmful effects from imports of dumped and subsidized cold-rolled steel. Today’s decision is an important step in returning fair trade to the U.S. flat rolled steel market, and sends a clear message that all countries must play by the rules of international trade and will be held accountable for failure to do so.”
SMU Note: Yesterday we received a note from one of our trading contacts who advised us that they had to divert 18,000 tons of cold rolled from China to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada due to the dumping suits. So, there definitely is an impact and from our perspective the 6-0 vote within the ITC could very well signal that all of the other AD/CVD suits will have similar results.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Government/Policy
Price on Trade: The foolishness of free trade with controlled economies
It was only a matter of time before a shutdown happened. And, no, we aren’t talking about the federal government’s lapse in appropriations. On Oct. 9, Beijing announced a series of restrictions that will effectively shut down exports of rare earth elements, magnets, and certain downstream products vital to advanced manufacturing.
Trump pulls plug on trade talks with Canada after anti-tariff Reagan ad
US President Donald Trump took to social media late Thursday night to announce he was canceling trade talks with Canada.
Leibowitz: Renewed trade war with China over rare earths
On Oct.10, President Trump announced major increases in tariffs on Chinese goods. The trigger was a new regime of export controls on rare earth metals and products using those elements, including magnets, capital equipment, and catalysts for catalytic converters in cars and trucks.
Industry piles on new Section 232 steel derivative inclusion requests
The Department of Commerce received 97 submissions from producers, manufacturers, and groups seeking Section 232 tariff coverage for steel and aluminum derivative products.
Price on Trade: New EU steel tariffs don’t mean the US should weaken its stance
Any steel imports into the EU that exceed the new, lower quota level would be subject to a 50% tariff, which represents a major increase from the EU’s current 25% out-of-quota tariff. This move would largely align the EU’s steel tariff rate with Canada and the United States.