Trade Cases
HR Critical Circumstances Filed Against Brazil, Australia, Japan & The Netherlands
Written by John Packard
November 3, 2015
On October 23, 2015 attorneys for the domestic steel mills alleged that exports from Brazil, Australia, Japan and the Netherlands surged into the United States in an effort to “…avoid the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties.”
Much like the corrosion resistant case that preceded the hot rolled filing which was originally made in August 2015, the domestic mills allege that the foreign mills knew a case against hot rolled was inevitable. The domestic mills used as the base period the months of March through May 2015 and the comparison period the months of June through August 2015. Based on the analysis provided by the steel mills, hot rolled exports from Australia increased by 81.2 percent, Brazil by 44.5 percent, Japan by 114.1 percent and the Netherlands by 21.8 percent during the comparison period.
For an increase in imports to be considered “massive” the threshold has been defined as +15 percent over the base period according to the US Department of Commerce.
The original trade suits were filed against seven countries: antidumping and countervailing duty investigations were announced on September 1st against Brazil, South Korea and Turkey. Antidumping only investigations on HR were announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce for Australia, the Netherlands, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Of the original 7 countries only 4 have been hit with allegations of critical circumstances.
We anticipate that it will take a number of months for the US DOC to make their preliminary determination on the critical circumstances allegations. They will have to make their announcement prior to the Preliminary Determinations being announced for either antidumping or countervailing duties.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Trade Cases
Price: Expect new trade shocks as Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariff negotiations continue
President Trump cast a wide net with the proposed, reciprocal tariffs. The negotiating stage will be critical to determining the success of his strategy. And for those suffering tariff whiplash, don’t expect the pace of change to slow down just because the reciprocal tariffs are entering a negotiating phase.
SMU Survey: Less support seen for Trump tariff policies
Meanwhile, an increasing number think it's too early to say whether the penalties are going to bring more manufacturing to the US.
CRU: USW seeks exclusion for Canada from Trump’s tariffs
The union is also urging stronger enforcement against countries such as China which break trade rules, and a coordinated Canada-US strategy to protect union jobs across the North America
Price on trade: A lot happened last week – and it wasn’t all about tariffs
Should foreign investment be allowed to reshape the American steel Industry? Not to be lost in the recent on-again-off-again tariff frenzy, Nippon Steel’s proposed takeover of U.S. Steel has also found itself in President Trump’s crosshairs when it comes to trade and industrial policy. Nippon Steel initially announced its nearly $15-billion bid for U.S. Steel […]
Trump signs executive order aimed at making US shipbuilding ‘great again’
President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order meant to breathe new life into American shipbuilding and curb Chinese dominance in the sector.