U.S. Producers Of Wire Rod Applaud International Trade Commission Affirmative Final Determination In Antidumping And Countervailing Duty Case Against China, Says Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

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Dec 15, 2014, 01:35 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) made a final determination today that foreign producers of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod ("wire rod") are causing injury to U.S. producers. The ITC Commissioners voted unanimously to grant relief to the domestic wire rod industry from the dumped and subsidized imports from China. This was the final step in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations and follows the November 13, 2014 determination by the U.S. Department of Commerce ("Commerce") that Chinese producers were dumping wire rod in the United States at dumping margins ranging from 106.19 to 110.25 percent. Commerce also determined that producers/exporters of wire rod from China have received countervailable subsidies ranging from 178.46 percent to 193.31 percent.

ArcelorMittal USA LLC, Charter Steel, Evraz Pueblo, Gerdau Ameristeel US Inc., Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc. and Nucor Corporation filed the petition on January 31, 2014, charging that unfairly traded imports of wire rod from China were causing material injury to the domestic injury. Imports from China surged from 144 tons in 2011 to over 600,000 tons in 2013. By 2013, China was the largest source of wire rod imports to the United States, with more than $335 million in imports.

"We have maintained throughout this case that the skyrocketing volume of imports of wire rod from China has injured the domestic industry with aggressive, dumped and subsidized prices. The domestic industry is extremely pleased that the Commission agreed and that the Chinese producers will now be subject to the discipline of trade orders to offset these practices," commented Paul Rosenthal of Kelley Drye, the lead trade counsel to the petitioners.

The ITC will transmit its determination to Commerce and Commerce will issue antidumping and countervailing duty orders shortly thereafter. Importers of wire rod will continue to be required to deposit estimated antidumping and countervailing duties at the time of entry into the United States. The orders will remain in place for a minimum period of five years and may be renewed in five-year increments.

Carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod is a hot-rolled intermediate steel product of approximately round solid cross section, in irregularly wound coils, in diameters less than 19 millimeters. Wire rod is primarily used for subsequent drawing and finishing by wire drawers, and is ultimately used to manufacture a variety of products, including electric welded chain, cold-drawn bars, springs, nails, reinforcing wire mesh, chain link fence and many different types of wires.

ArcelorMittal USA LLC, Charter Steel, Evraz Pueblo, Gerdau Ameristeel US Inc., Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc., are represented in these actions by Paul Rosenthal, Kathleen Cannon and Alan Luberda of the law firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP. Nucor Corporation is represented by Alan Price and Daniel Pickard of Wiley Rein LLP.

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SOURCE Kelley Drye & Warren LLP