OCTG producers in Canada take aim at Mexico, US, others

It also represents efforts by both Ottawa and the Canadian steel industry to blunt the impact of Trump administration actions that have disrupted US-Canada trade relations.

Evraz North America and Welded Tube of Canada jointly filed the petition with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) this week.

Their case seeks the imposition of anti-dumping duties on OCTG from Mexico and the Philippines.

It also takes aim at specific producers and exporters from three other countries: Borusan Mannesmann in Turkey, Hyundai Steelpipe in South Korea, and Tenaris and its subsidiaries in the United States.

Whack-a-mole

The complaint comes after “a disturbing pattern of trade disruption in recent years,” Evraz and Welded Tube said in a joint statement.

OCTG imports from China surged in 2022. The Canadian government took action to halt the imports then flooding the domestic market. The result: AD and countervailing duties were imposed on Chinese OCTG.

The unintended consequence of that action: Imports shot up from the countries named in the complaint. Since 2023, more than 200,000 metric tons of OCTG from those countries have largely replaced the volumes previously sourced from China, according to the two companies.

What they’re saying

“Canadian producers are operating in an increasingly unstable global trade environment,” said Jeff Hanley, VP of energy tubulars at Welded Tube of Canada. “Without action, we risk losing good-paying, unionized jobs and weakening a strategic manufacturing sector.”

“Canada has more than enough capacity to meet its own demand for OCTG,” said Evraz Canada SVP Don Hunter. “Our complaint clearly shows that unfairly priced imports are undermining the viability of Canadian production and putting our workers at risk.”

The United Steelworkers union voiced its support for the trade complaint. The union called on CBSA and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) to move quickly to protect Canadian workers.

“During these unprecedented times, we must stand up for Canadian jobs,” said Marty Warren, the Canadian national director for the USW.

As of press time on Thursday, Tenaris had not responded to SMU’s request for comment.