ITC Announces New Duties On Chinese Steel

As steel trade tensions mount between the U.S. and China, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced that it is imposing new duties on imports of steel pipes from the country. In what is becoming the largest steel trade dispute in U.S. history, the new duties will impact about $2.7 billion worth of Chinese imports, according to Manufacturing.Net.

The ITC voted to impose duties between 10.36% and 15.78% on steel pipes. The duties are intended to offset government subsidies that the U.S. government says China is providing its steelmakers. The move is in response to a complaint filed in April by U.S. Steel and six other steel manufacturers, as well as the United Steelworkers’ union.

The U.S. industry alleged that Chinese exporters are selling the subsidized pipes at unfairly low prices in the U.S., a practice known as “dumping.” The Commerce Department said last month that imports of the Chinese steel pipes rose by nearly 360% from 2006 to 2008.

The steelworkers union said earlier this month that the dumping has harmed the U.S. steel industry and caused more than 2,400 job losses since the beginning of this year. The ITC only addresses the U.S. industry’s concern that Chinese imports benefit from government subsidies.

The ITC will also vote in the spring on whether to impose additional tariffs of up to 99% to penalize the Chinese steelmakers for dumping. The Commerce Department said it may impose antidumping tariffs of 14% to 145% on $91 million of steel grating imported from China. It defines steel grating as two or more pieces of steel joined by any assembly process. The department will make a final decision in that case in April.