ITC, Commerce Dept., Attack Steel Dumpers

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and the Dept. of Commerce last week attacked several countries for dumping steel products on the U.S. market at unfairly low prices. The ITC voted that the U.S. market for cut-to-length carbon steel plate has been injured by unfairly priced imports from India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and France. The vote means the Commerce Dept. will impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties against the importers. Cut-to-length plate is a flat steel product used in agricultural and construction equipment, bridges, barges and ships, rail cars, and buildings. Also last week, the Dept. of Commerce concluded that cold-rolled steel; was dumped on the U.S. market at unfairly low prices by importers from Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Russia, South Africa, and Thailand. If the ITC agrees with the findings at its next meeting, the Dept. of Commerce will impose anti-dumping duties against these countries. The U.S. steel industry has seen a rise in dumping since the Asian economic crisis began in late 1997.