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Chinese Steelmakers Trying to Evade U.S. Import Tariffs, American Steelmakers Allege
09/23/2016 - Several U.S. steelmakers are accusing their Chinese counterparts of circumventing newly imposed tariffs on cold-rolled and corrosion-resistant steels by diverting products into another country before exporting them.
In complaints being filed with the Commerce Department, the producers, which include ArcelorMittal USA, Nucor Corp. and United States Steel Corp., said that immediately after the Commerce Department imposed provisional duties on the products, Chinese manufacturers began sending steel to Vietnam for finishing before export to the U.S.
“Imports from China of corrosion-resistant and cold-rolled steel declined dramatically in response to Commerce's imposition of duties, while imports from Vietnam surged as the domestic steel producers believe Chinese steel producers attempted to circumvent these orders by transshipping steel products through Vietnam for minor finishing operations,” some of the companies said in a joint statement.
Citing a filing in the case, Platts reported that imports of Vietnamese galvanized sheet rose more than 6,000 percent from the first half of 2015 to the first half of 2016. At the same time, cold-rolled steel rose nearly 1,900 percent from the first half of 2015 to the first half of 2016.
"This would not be so remarkable in itself -- when one country becomes subject to unfair trade orders, others may export more to take its place -- but for one fact: Vietnam has no installed capacity to make steel flat products or hot-rolled coil, the input product for (cold-rolled coil)," two of the companies said in the filing, according to Platts.
The U.S. producers said the attempts to evade the tariffs must be quickly addressed.
"This type of behavior is becoming more frequent, so it is important that the U.S. government send a strong message that circumvention of our trade laws will not be tolerated," they said.
“Imports from China of corrosion-resistant and cold-rolled steel declined dramatically in response to Commerce's imposition of duties, while imports from Vietnam surged as the domestic steel producers believe Chinese steel producers attempted to circumvent these orders by transshipping steel products through Vietnam for minor finishing operations,” some of the companies said in a joint statement.
Citing a filing in the case, Platts reported that imports of Vietnamese galvanized sheet rose more than 6,000 percent from the first half of 2015 to the first half of 2016. At the same time, cold-rolled steel rose nearly 1,900 percent from the first half of 2015 to the first half of 2016.
"This would not be so remarkable in itself -- when one country becomes subject to unfair trade orders, others may export more to take its place -- but for one fact: Vietnam has no installed capacity to make steel flat products or hot-rolled coil, the input product for (cold-rolled coil)," two of the companies said in the filing, according to Platts.
The U.S. producers said the attempts to evade the tariffs must be quickly addressed.
"This type of behavior is becoming more frequent, so it is important that the U.S. government send a strong message that circumvention of our trade laws will not be tolerated," they said.
