Russia is challenging a series of U.S. antidumping decisions on hot-rolled and flat-rolled carbon-quality steel that began in 1999 and have continued through 2019. The two countries also reached a suspension agreement on the carbon steel for part of the last decade, but antidumping duties have been levied on Russian carbon steel products since 2014. Russia is asking for consultations with the U.S through the World Trade Organization, because it says that the U.S. did not determine individual producers' dumping margins, and that it did not calculate the costs of production of the articles before setting the duty rates.
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
The Section 232 uranium investigation is complete, and the president should make his decision by July 13, a Bureau of Industry and Security official told attendees at the annual BIS export controls conference. It was completed April 14, he said.
The Commerce Department is leaving in place an agreement suspending antidumping duties on uranium from Russia (A-821-802), it said in the final results of an administrative review. A Russian exporter of uranium, its affiliates and unaffiliated resellers remain in compliance with the suspension agreement, Commerce said. The current suspension agreement was finalized in 2008.
Even on the U.S.-Mexico border, Congress members were not hearing much alarm from constituents when President Donald Trump was threatening to levy tariffs on all Mexican imports because he was unhappy with the volume of Central American migration. "They don't necessarily understand how that was going to impact them," said Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas. He'd tell them: "This is going to impact jobs, like Toyota in San Antonio."
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website June 19, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADD CVD Search page:
During almost a year of 25 percent tariffs on Canadian steel, U.S. purchases of Canadian steel declined by nearly 20 percent, according to Cicero Machado, a steel analyst with Wood Mackenzie. In the early weeks after the tariffs were lifted, there was not a jump in Canadian steel imports, according to Amy Magnus, whose customs brokerage in Vermont works with many importers bringing steel from Canada. Orders cannot be shipped quickly, she said.
The International Trade Commission's past finding against domestic industry harm due to titanium sponge imports is immaterial to the question of the possible national security issues under a Section 232 investigation, Timet said in rebuttal comments related to its petition to impose Section 232 import restrictions. Timet said that within the ITC investigation, the commission specifically didn't consider the company's "make or buy" argument that weighs the factors for how a company decides to produce or import downstream titanium mill products. Within the Section 232 analysis, Commerce "is not statutorily barred" from considering Timet's "make or buy" argument, Timet said. The governments of Japan and Kazakhstan were among the previous commenters that objected to Timet's petition (see 1904230050).
The International Trade Commission published notices in the June 3 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
The Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission began five-year sunset reviews of the antidumping duty orders on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova, and Trinidad and Tobago (A-351-832, A-560-815, A-201-830, A-841-805, A-274-804); circular welded austenitic stainless pressure pipe from China (A-570-930), welded stainless steel pressure pipe from Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand (A-557-815, A-552-816, A-549-830); oil country tubular goods from India, Turkey and South Korea (A-533-857, A-489-816, A-580-870); and silicon metal from Russia (A-821-817); as well as the countervailing duty orders on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from Brazil (C-351-833); oil country tubular goods from India and Turkey (C-533-858, C-489-817); and circular welded austenitic stainless pressure pipe from China (C-570-931); and the antidumping duty suspension agreement on oil country tubular goods from Ukraine (A-823-815).
The Trump administration, furious that Central American migrant asylum seekers continue to stream to the U.S., says that unless Mexico can "dramatically reduce or eliminate the number of illegal aliens" coming to the U.S., it will levy tariffs on all Mexican imports, starting June 10. The tariff will begin at 5 percent, go to 10 percent on July 1, and then increase by 5 percent each month until it reaches 25 percent on Oct. 1.