Trade Cases
Coated trade case alleges hefty dumping margins
Written by Laura Miller
September 6, 2024
Domestic mills have alleged substantial dumping margins in the trade case targeting imports of corrosion-resistant flat-rolled steel.
The case’s petitioners, Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Nucor, U.S. Steel, Wheeling-Nippon Steel, and the United Steelworkers (USW) union, filed the case on Sept. 5.
The case asserts that Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia, and South Africa have been dumping coated flat-rolled steel in the US at prices below market value.
The table below shows the dumping margins alleged in the petition reviewed by SMU.
| Country | Min. | Max. | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 45.5% | 51.35% | 48.42% |
| Brazil | 47.0% | 99.5% | 75.7% |
| Canada | 19.1% | 51.3% | 35.0% |
| Mexico | 26.67% | 41.08% | 34.16% |
| Netherlands | 12.8% | 20.6% | 15.6% |
| South Africa | 51.96% | 52.02% | 51.99% |
| Taiwan | – | – | 67.9% |
| Turkey | 9.4% | 24.47% | 16.39% |
| UAE | 76.96% | 78.41% | 77.68% |
| Vietnam | – | – | 158.83% |
The trade case petition also argues that producers in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Vietnam have benefited from government subsidies.
Veteran trade attorney Roger Schagrin of Schagrin Associates and lead counsel for SDI and the USW told SMU, “While dumping cases require margin allegations, subsidy cases don’t.”
Subsidy cases “must contain evidence of the programs and use of the programs by foreign producers,” he said.
Petitioners believe they have laid out the evidence of those programs in their 9,000+ page case filing.
The Department of Commerce is tasked with determining the exact amounts of subsidies received during the period of investigation and then establishing the countervailable duty (CVD) rates.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has scheduled a case hearing for Sept. 26 and its preliminary injury determination vote for Oct. 18.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Mr. Schagrin’s position as lead counsel for two of the domestic petitioners, but not all.
Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Trade Cases
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.