Trade Cases

Commerce Finds Circumvention on CORE Products Originating in China and Taiwan
Written by Sandy Williams
February 11, 2020
In a self-initiated investigation, the Department of Commerce announced an affirmative circumvention ruling regarding corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) made from substrate from China and Taiwan.
Commerce preliminarily determined that Chinese steel substrate shipped to Costa Rica, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates for minor processing, and then exported to the United States as CORE, is circumventing the antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders on CORE from China.
Commerce also determined that Taiwanese steel substrate shipped to Malaysia for minor processing, and then exported to the United States as CORE, is circumventing the AD order on CORE from Taiwan.
An investigation into CORE products exported from Guatemala and South Africa found that the products were not made with Chinese substrate, resulting in a negative circumvention ruling.
Following the initiation of the original AD/CVD investigations on CORE imports from China and Taiwan, shipments of CORE from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Malaysia, South Africa, and the UAE to the United States increased in value by 29,210 percent, 35,944 percent, 151,216 percent, 629 percent, and 5,571 percent, respectively.
AD and CVD cash deposits will be collected on imports of CORE completed in Costa Rica, Malaysia, and the UAE using China-origin substrate, as well as imports of CORE completed in Malaysia using Taiwan-origin substrate.
The cash deposit rates will be equal to the rates previously established for CORE from China and Taiwan, as applicable. Suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements will apply to unliquidated entries on or after Aug. 12, 2019.
The investigation, initiated in August 2019, is particularly significant in that it is the first time Commerce self-initiated a circumvention inquiry based on its own monitoring of trade patterns.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Trade Cases

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.

Trump still against selling USS to Japanese firm: Report
Despite ordering a new review of Nippon Steel’s bid for U.S. Steel, President Trump said he is still against selling USS to a Japanese company, according to media reports.