Trade Cases

SDI Targets Japan with Circumvention Case Against Vietnamese Coated Sheet
Written by Michael Cowden
November 23, 2021
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has filed a duty circumvention case against coated flat-rolled steel from Vietnam made from Japanese substrate.
The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker thinks that “minor alterations” such as coating represent an attempt to circumvent existing antidumping and countervailing duty orders on hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil from Japan.
The U.S. Commerce Department has already ruled in favor of domestic steelmakers in similar cases targeting coated product made in Vietnam from substrate melted in China, Taiwan and South Korea.
Japanese hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil have been “following the same path” that substrate from China, Taiwan and South Korea did previously, SDI said in a filing earlier this month written by Washington, D.C.-based law firm Schagrin Associates and addressed to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
“In each case, the circuitous production path has allowed the continuation of low-priced imports that remain injurious to the domestic steel industry,” the filing alleged.
SDI also noted that successful circumvention cases had been filed against coated product from the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Costa Rica originating from Chinese substrate and against coated product from Malaysia originating from Taiwanese substrate.
The text of the filing in addition raised the prospect of duty circumvention cases being extended to other countries already subject to antidumping and/or countervailing duty orders on hot-rolled, cold-rolled rolled or coated product resulting from a raft of trade petitions filed in 2015-16.
That list includes not only Japan but also Australia, Brazil, China, India, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Domestic mills will have a hard time claiming they need relief after posting record quarterly profits thanks to U.S. steel prices that are the highest in the world, some market observers said. But others said the case – should it serve as a template for future cases – has the potential to alter the domestic supply landscape.
The petition also comes as some North American mills have expressed concern about lower priced coated products – such as galvanized and Galvalume – potentially making substantial inroads against domestic steel in the first half of 2022.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Trade Cases

Canada moves to curb steel imports with TRQs
Canada has implemented tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on steel imports to help stabilize its domestic market.

Commerce launches probe into unfairly traded rebar imports
Here are the details and a case timeline for the rebar trade case recently initiated by the Commerce Department.

Leibowitz on Trade: Who is winning the tariff debate?
Most economists will tell you that universal tariffs will result in inflation and reduce demand, causing a recession or worse. (After all, this is what happened in the 1930s). It is a rare product that is so essential that demand will not go down if prices go up.

Canadian steel industry fears thousands of job losses from US tariffs
The Canadian steel industry is bracing for thousands of job losses because of US tariffs, the Canadian Steel Producers Association says.

US, Mexico mull tariff-rate quota system: Report
Could the US and Mexico end up with a tariff-rate quota system?