Emotions are running hot as the market awaits President Trump’s decision on Section 232, and whether to impose new trade restrictions on steel imports for national security reasons. Sharply contrasting comments recently from Dan DiMicco and Richard Chriss serve to bookend both sides of the issue. DiMicco, the former CEO of Nucor and current trade […]
Is the United States violating World Trade Organization rules with its trade remedy methodologies? Canada says yes and has filed a complaint with the WTO alleging that the United States’ use of antidumping and countervailing duties violates international trade law. Spurred by recent duties on paper, lumber and airplanes, Canada filed a complaint last month […]
Anticipation is building over the Commerce Department’s Section 232 report, which is finally due to the White House in the next few days. Will its recommendations to the president on trade action to protect the national security prove to be a bombshell or a bust? Proponents of new tariffs or quotas on steel imports have […]
Vietnam steelmakers are asking for government assistance in defending the industry from U.S. antidumping and countervailing investigations on galvanized and cold rolled steels. The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) has requested that the Ministry of Industry and Trade intervene, including filing a suit with the World Trade Organization to counter Department of Commerce actions that it […]
The U.S. International Trade Commission issued its final affirmative determination of material injury regarding imports of cold drawn mechanical tubes from China and India. The decision triggers the imposition of countervailing duties assigned by Commerce on Dec. 5. The Commission did not find critical circumstances for tubes imported from China and, therefore, will not subject […]
“We have much work to do to reach an agreement that serves the economic interests of the American people. Our goals are clear: we must achieve fair and reciprocal trade between our two nations,” said Ambassador Robert Lighthizer during a meeting Jan. 5 with Korean representatives in Washington to advance talks on the U.S.-Korea Free […]
It was an unusually busy year for steel trade actions in the United States in 2017. January brought the nominations of Robert Lighthizer as U.S. Trade Representative and Wilbur Ross as Commerce Secretary. During his confirmation hearings, Ross said, “I’m not anti-trade, I’m pro-trade. But I’m pro-sensible trade. Not pro-trade that is to the disadvantage […]
With demand fairly strong and prices rising, two out of three respondents to this week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire feel there is no longer any need for President Trump to act on Section 232 ahead of the mid-January deadline. Earlier this year, the Trump administration instructed the Commerce Department to investigate whether low-priced […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Wednesday antidumping and countervailing duties of almost 300 percent on Canadian Bombardier C Series planes that are shipped to the U.S, setting up potential retaliation by Canada. In its final determination, Commerce set an antidumping duty rate of 79.82 percent and a CVD rate of 212.39 percent. Boeing […]
China is not happy about being cast as the enemy by President Trump’s first national security strategy, released on Monday. In a turnabout from the friendly overtures made by the U.S. administration to China, Trump accused China of “attempting to erode American security and prosperity.” “For decades, U.S. policy was rooted in the belief that […]
It’s a real possibility the United States may withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Despite pleas from Republican and Democratic senators, agriculture industry leaders, automotive executives, the United Steelworkers, trucking associations and many others, President Trump, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appear undeterred in their march to tear up […]
The World Trade Organization finished its 11th ministerial conference on Wednesday without making significant progress on multilateral issues. Nearly 4,000 ministers, trade officials and delegates from the 164 members of the WTO attended the 11th ministerial conference, along with observers and the global press. The meetings opened on Sunday with members chafing from criticism by […]
Washing machine manufacturers Samsung and LG won a partial victory in the Section 201 safeguard investigation initiated by Whirlpool and GE. Whirlpool is asking for quotas and a 50 percent digressive tariff on imports of all large residential washers (LRWs) in 2018. Beginning in 2019, the rate would be reduced to 49 percent and then […]
The Section 232 investigation into steel imports fails to meet approval by the Defense Department, according to Inside U.S. Trade sources. After reviewing a draft report earlier this year, the Defense Department determined that trade restrictions proposed by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross would “unnecessarily vex U.S. allies.” A source told Inside U.S. Trade that the […]
Withdrawal from NAFTA is looking more likely, said Democratic and Republican senators who met separately with President Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer last week. Six Republicans who attended a meeting at the White House on Tuesday said it is likely the president will trigger the withdrawal process after the sixth round of talks […]
Preliminary antidumping duties were determined Thursday by the Department of Commerce on circular welded non-alloy steel pipe imports from South Korea. An antidumping margin of 38.16 percent was assigned to CWP manufactured by Hyundai Steel Co. and 23.17 percent duties on imports from Aju Besteel Co., Nexteel, and SeAH Steel Corp. Husteel received an antidumping […]
The Commerce Department’s Vietnam circumvention ruling on Tuesday represents a departure in the U.S. government’s interpretation of what constitutes adding “minor or insignificant” value to a product. This is a key issue in determining whether importation of a product from a country not directly subject to a trade remedy amounts to a “circumvention” of existing […]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned against protectionism at a meeting of business leaders in China on Wednesday, offering a thinly veiled criticism of the Trump trade agenda. “We are at a pivot point in the world right now, where we decide whether we work together in an open and confident way and succeed or whether […]
In preliminary rulings today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) and certain cold-rolled flat products imported from Vietnam, produced from substrate originating in China, are circumventing existing antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders. As a result, Commerce will instruct Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to begin collecting cash deposits on the […]
The Senate passed a tax bill on Dec. 2 and is now in the process of reconciling it with the legislation passed by the House last month. Steel Manufacturers Association President Philip Bell said in a statement on Saturday, “It is our hope that after reconciliation the final legislation will result in significant economic growth […]
WTO members showed restraint in imposing trade restrictive measures last year, according to the organization’s most recent annual overview report on trade-related developments. Members implemented 108 new trade-restrictive measures during the reporting period July 2016 through June 2017, an average of 9 measures per month compared to 15 per month in the previous annual report. […]
The Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity agreed on a framework Thursday for collectively solving the world’s steel overcapacity problem. The 33 members worked together to develop specific policy recommendations using six agreed-upon principles to formulate solutions for bringing steel capacity in line with demand and reducing trade distortions. Notable is a new sharing of […]
The U.S. Commerce Department has self-initiated an antidumping and countervailing investigation of imports of common alloy aluminum sheet from China. Normally, AD/CVD investigations are initiated by petitioners within the industry who allege dumping or subsidization of a product by one or more countries. Commerce may self-initiate an investigation whenever the Secretary determines a need exists […]
Detroit automakers met with Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Monday to express concerns about the U.S. proposal on NAFTA automotive rules of origin. General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne and Ford Motor Co. Executive Vice President and President of Global Operations Joe Hinrichs […]
Imports of tool chests and cabinets from China will likely be subject to countervailing duties once the International Trade Commission makes its final injury determination. The U.S. Commerce Department issued its affirmative final determination on Nov. 22, calculating final subsidy rates ranging from 14.03 percent to 95.96 percent. As a result of this decision, Commerce will […]
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative has finally updated its summary of NAFTA objectives in response to pressure from the Senate Finance Committee to provide transparency regarding the negotiations. Ron Wyden (D-OR) put the confirmation of two deputy USTR nominees on hold until the updated objectives were made public. Wyden said the summaries are […]
Cold-drawn mechanical tubing imported from China, Germany, India, Italy, Korea and Switzerland was determined by Commerce to be sold below fair value. In its Nov. 16 preliminary antidumping determination, Commerce assigned dumping margins ranging between 5.10 percent and 186.89 percent. Commerce also found that “critical circumstances” exist with respect to Dalmine S.p.A. and Metalfer S.p.A. […]
“What if President Trump’s ultimate goal is to kill the World Trade Organization?” That was the question submitted by journalist Eduardo Porter in the New York Times last month. Porter’s question seemed even more to the point last week when President Trump accused the WTO of ignoring its own rules while the United States has […]
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross pushed back at critics of the Section 232 investigation this week, saying steel-consuming businesses don’t “deserve” dumped steel. Associations such as the American Institute for International Steel and U.S. Chamber of Commerce assert that Section 232 restrictions on steel could lead to economic disaster for the steel supply chain, ports and […]
A dispute over OCTG dumping duties assigned by the U.S. on imports of Korean OCTG drew mixed conclusions from a World Trade Organization dispute panel. The WTO sided with South Korea on claims that the U.S. violated rules in the Antidumping Agreement regarding the calculation of fair value of OCTG. The panel determined that Commerce […]