Oct. 6, 2006 — The six largest automobile companies with manufacturing facilities in the United States jointly called on the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to terminate anti-dumping and countervailing duties on corrosion-resistant steel, a steel product used extensively in the manufacture of automobiles.

Petitioners included DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. The companies also announced that they will take an active role in the ITC's sunset review process that determines whether the duties will remain in place.

The U.S. auto and auto parts industry alone is responsible for employment of 2.4 million Americans. The six automotive companies together purchase $200 billion annually in materials, parts and services for their U.S. operations. Steel is a critical component of every vehicle and a significant portion of production costs. All six companies buy the overwhelming amount of the steel used in their U.S. operations from U.S. steel mills, but must maintain the ability to obtain key materials for their vehicle assembly plants dependably and at globally competitive prices.

The ITC is required to conduct a sunset review on antidumping and countervailing duties every five years. The duties will be lifted unless the ITC finds that the steel industry is likely to face material injury as a result. The duties on corrosion resistant steel have been in place since 1993 on imports from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Korea.

Source: The PBN Co. on behalf of DaimlerChrysler Corp. and Ford Motor Co.