Steel Products Prices North America

Trade Case Initiated on Rectangular Welded Carbon Steel Pipe and Tube

August 11, 2015

The Department of Commerce announced on August 11 the initiation of an antidumping investigation into imports of heavy walled rectangular welded carbon steel pipe and tubes from Korea, Mexico and Turkey and a countervailing duty investigation of imports from Turkey.

The petition for the investigation was brought forth by Atlas Tube (a division of JMC Steel Group), Bull Moose Tube Company, EXLTUBE, Hannibal Industries, Inc., Independence Tube Corporation, Maruichi American Corporation, Searing Industries, Southland Tube, and Vest, Inc. (Note: EXLTUBE is not a petitioner in the case involving Mexico).

The alleged dumping margins are:

Korea 53.8 percent
Mexico 11.9 percent
Turkey 101.1 to 113.7 percent

The estimated subsidy rate for Turkey is above the minimum of 1 percent.

The products in the investigation are described as: certain heavy walled rectangular welded steel pipes and tubes of rectangular (including square) cross section, having a nominal wall thickness of not less than 4 mm. The merchandise includes, but is not limited to, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) A-500, grade B specifications, or comparable domestic or foreign specifications.

In 2014, imports of heavy walled rectangular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Korea, Mexico, and Turkey were valued at an estimated $50.5 million (75,600 tonnes), $53.7 million (65,600 tonnes), and $41.9 million (56,300 tonnes), respectively.

Rectangular welded steel pipe is also called HSS, hollow structural shapes, and is used for columns in high rise buildings and other construction applications.

The preliminary injury determination by the US International Trade Commission is scheduled for Sept. 4, 2015. If an affirmative decision is made, the investigation will continue and the DOC will make a preliminary CVD determination in October and an AD determination in December.