USITC maintains existing duties on carbon, alloy steel wire rod products
The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) last week, in a five-year sunset review related to carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod imports, voted to continue existing countervailing and antidumping duties.
The USITC opted to keep existing countervailing and antidumping duty orders in place because removing them “would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.”
The antidumping duties on the wire rod products applied to imports from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova, and Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, the USITC maintained the existing countervailing duty order on wire rod imports from Brazil.
The five-year sunset review of countervailing duties came about pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. The act calls for the review of countervailing or antidumping duties after five years and termination of the duties unless doing so would lead to a continuation of dumping or subsidies by foreign exporters.
Whether you’re importing wire rod or not, make sure you’re following best practices for metals sourcing.
Wire rod imports drop in June
The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported June wire rod imports totaled 48,226 metric tons.
The June total marked a decline from the 63,173 metric tons imported in May. June 2019 imports totaled 67,593 metric tons.
Through the first five months of the year, wire rod imports totaled 300,389 metric tons. By contrast, wire rod imports during the same period in 2019 totaled 443,854 metric tons.
Reuters: U.S. seeks to reduce Brazil steel export quota
In other steel news, Reuters recently reported the U.S. government has been pressuring Brazil to reduce its exports of unfinished steel to the U.S.
Marco Polo, president of Brazilian steel industry group IABr, said the U.S. sought to reduce Brazil’s steel export quota.
The U.S. implemented Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum in 2018.
Despite this, Brazil was among the countries to avoid the tariffs, instead facing a steel export quota.
The U.S. set the quota for semi-finished steel at 100% of Brazil’s average annual export total from 2015-2017. Meanwhile, U.S. set the quota for finished steel at 70% of the annual average.
The U.S. imported 21,067 metric tons of steel from Brazil in June, down from 47,165 metric tons in May.
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