International Trade Law News

Six domestic producers of welded standard steel pipe and a trade union last week filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission on imports of welded standard pipe from China. The petitioners in this case are Allied Tube & Conduit, IPSCO Tubulars Inc., Northwest Pipe Company, Sharon Tube Company, Western Tube & Conduit Corporation and Wheatland Tube Company, as well as the United Steelworkers Union.

The petitioners alleged that U.S. imports of circular standard and structural pipe from China have increased from 10,000 tons in 2002 to 690,000 tons in 2006, a 6,800% increase.

This is the second recent countervailing duty case brought against imports from China. In October 2006, a U.S. manufacturer of coated paper requested the Department of Commerce to reconsider its longstanding policy of not applying the countervailing duty laws to China. In March, the Commerce Department announced its preliminary decision to apply the U.S. countervailing duty laws for the first time on imports from a non-market economy.

Labels: Antidumping, Countervailing Duties