FACT SHEET

Preliminary Determinations in the Antidumping Duty Investigations on Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela

On April 29, the Department of Commerce (the Department) announced its preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) investigations on imports of certain cold-rolled carbon steel flat products (cold-rolled steel) from the above-mentioned countries.

Background: On September 28, 2001, U.S. producers of cold-rolled steel filed petitions with the Department of Commerce requesting the initiation of AD and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations.  The Department will verify responses provided by responding companies, and will consider comments from interested parties on its preliminary determinations and verification report in making its final determinations.  If the Department makes final determinations that imports were made below fair value and/or were unfairly subsidized, and the International Trade Commission (ITC) makes final affirmative determinations that imports were materially injuring, or threatening to materially injure, the domestic industry, then the Department will instruct the Customs Service to collect antidumping and/or countervailing duties.

Final Determinations: The Department is currently scheduled to make its final determinations in the AD cases on Australia, France (AD and CVD), India, Japan, Korea (AD and CVD), Netherlands, the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, Sweden, Spain, Thailand and Turkey no later than July 10.   However, the final determinations in the AD and CVD cases on Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, Taiwan, and Venezuela have been extended until approximately September 13. 

Petitioners:  Bethlehem Steel Corporation, LTV Steel Company, Inc., National Steel Corporation, Nucor Corporation, Steel Dynamics, Inc., United States Steel LLC., WCI Steel, Inc., and Weirton Steel Corporation.  National Steel Corporation is not a petitioner in the Japan case, and Weirton Steel Corporation is not a petitioner in the Netherlands case.  As of January 2002, LTV Steel Company, Inc. is no longer an active petitioner in these investigations.

Companion Countervailing Duty Cases: The Department is also conducting countervailing duty investigations on imports of cold rolled steel from Argentina, Brazil, France and Korea.  The Department made its preliminary determinations in these investigations on February 25.  We found that producers/exporters of certain cold-rolled carbon steel flat products from Brazil, France, and Korea have benefited from countervailable subsidies.  However, the Department did not find that producers/exporters from Argentina benefited from countervailable subsidies.  The final determinations in these investigations have been aligned with the AD investigations on imports from that country.

Tariffs imposed under Section 201: Imports of Cold-Rolled steel are subject to an initial tariff of 30 percent as part of the Section 201 relief, which would be cumulated with any AD and CVD duties imposed if both the Department and the ITC make affirmative final findings of dumping/unfair subsidization and injury. Excluded from 201 relief on the basis of their developing country status are: Argentina, Brazil, India, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela.

Critical Circumstances: Petitioners alleged that critical circumstances exist with regard to imports from Argentina, Australia, India, the Netherlands, the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, South Africa, South Korea, and Taiwan.  On April 10, the Department made preliminary determinations that critical circumstances do exist for imports from Australia, India, the Netherlands, the People’s Republic of China, and the Russian Federation.  With respect to imports from South Korea, the Department preliminarily determined that critical circumstances exist for imports produced or exported from Pohang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. (POSCO) and all other Korean producers/exporters, but made a preliminary negative critical circumstances determination for imports produced or exported by Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd.   The Department has made a preliminary determination that critical circumstances do not exist with respect to imports from Argentina, South Africa, and Taiwan.   If the Department and the ITC make final affirmative determinations that critical circumstances do exist with regard to imports of cold rolled steel, countervailing and antidumping duties may be assessed retroactively on goods imported up to 90 days prior to the publication of the Department’s preliminary determinations.

Product Description: Cold-rolled steel is a higher-end steel product, and is a significant component of domestic production, with a myriad of applications, from capital goods (such as appliances and electronics) to automotive and aerospace applications.  For purposes of these investigations, the products covered are cold-rolled steel (cold-reduced) flat-rolled carbon-quality steel products.  For a full description of the scope of this investigation, as well as a complete discussion of all scope exclusion requests submitted in the context of the on-going cold-rolled steel investigations, please see the “Scope Appendix” attached to the Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from Argentina, issued April 26, 2002.              

Case Calendar:

* These deadlines may be extended under the governing statute.

** This will take place only in the event of a final affirmative determination from the Department and the ITC.

Import Statistics: Volume and Value

Imports from the alleged countries were valued at almost $904 million dollars in 2000. By volume, these imports accounted for about 70.92% of all cold-rolled steel imports, with an import penetration of 13.64%.

Preliminary Dumping Margins:

*De Minimus

**The Final Determinations will be extended until September 13, 2002, which is 135 days from the preliminary determination.