Monday, 22 Feb 2010
On last Wednesday, several US plate producers filed a request for a circumvention ruling on cut to length plate from China citing it as another instance of Chinese plate producers adding boron to their steel in an effort to evade antidumping duties, on which US DOC ruled affirmatively last year.

The petition was filed on behalf of Nucor Corporation, SSAB NAD, Evraz Claymont Steel, Evraz Oregon Steel Mills and ArcelorMittal USA Inc requesting that the Department issue a company-specific final circumvention ruling within 45 days.

The petition alleges that “Chinese producer Wuyang Iron and Steel Co Ltd and or importer Stemcor are importing cut to length plate products with metallurgical and economically insignificant amounts of boron added so as to classify the steel as alloy and thus outside of the scope of the antidumping duty order.”

It added that “Accordingly, we request a finding that imports from the People's Republic of China of CTL plate products with 0.0008 percent or more boron, by weight, produced by Wuyang Iron and Steel Co Ltd, regardless of the exporter or the importer of the merchandise and otherwise meeting the description of in scope merchandise, are within the scope of the antidumping duty order. Furthermore, we request a finding that imports from China of CTL plate products with 0.0008 percent or more boron, by weight, imported by Stemcor, regardless of the producer or exporter of the merchandise, and otherwise meeting the description of in scope merchandise, are within the scope of the antidumping duty order.”

On November 5th 1996, domestic producers filed an antidumping petition alleging that Chinese producers and exporters were importing unfairly-priced CTL plate into the US market. After the Department preliminarily found that certain CTL plate from the People's Republic of China was being or was likely to be sold at less than fair value the Government of China signed a suspension agreement with the Department. Following the International Trade Commission's determination that the domestic CTL plate industry was being materially injured by reason of imports of CTL plate from China that were being sold at less than fair value the Department issued a final determination setting forth a PRC-wide rate of 128.59% On November 3, 2003, the Department terminated China's suspension agreement, issued an antidumping duty order, and directed suspension of liquidation to begin.

On October 20th 2008, in response to a request from domestic interested parties in the above-mentioned proceeding, the Department initiated an antidumping circumvention inquiry with regard to producer Tianjin Iron and Steel and importer Toyota Tsusbo America. In the circumvention inquiry, the Department investigated merchandise containing 0.0008% or more boron and otherwise meeting the description of the scope of the antidumping duty order on certain CTL carbon steel plate products from China. On August 12th 2009, the Department affirmatively concluded that circumvention was occurring, and held the inquiry merchandise to be within the scope of the antidumping duty order on CTL plate from China.

In this instance, the scope of the antidumping duty order covers carbon products, not alloy products, and the inclusion of 0.0008% boron is enough to turn a carbon product into an alloy product for purposes of the HTS. Near the conclusion of the original investigation, Petitioners Geneva Steel Company and Gulf States Steel Company recognized that adding small amounts of alloys to the subject CTL plate would enable Chinese producers and exporters to circumvent the order. At that late stage in the investigation, however, the Department did not believe that it was prudent to alter the scope language to include low-alloy plate products (e.g., carbon steel plate with minimal amounts of boron added).