WASHINGTON, Nov.19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) made a unanimous (6-0) preliminary determination today that foreign producers of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) are causing injury to the two U.S. producers of GOES and their workers. The preliminary injury determination means that the case against producers in seven countries will proceed.
AK Steel Corporation (NYSE:AKS) and ATI Allegheny Ludlum, an Allegheny Technology company (NYSE:ATI), along with the United Steelworkers ("USW"), a union representing workers engaged in the production of GOES at Allegheny Ludlum, filed petitions on September18 charging that unfairly traded imports of GOES from China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Poland, Russia and South Korea were causing material injury to the domestic injury. Antidumping cases were filed against all seven countries, in addition to a countervailing duty case against China alleging government subsidization of Chinese producers.
The case now moves to the United States Department of Commerce ("Commerce Department") for determinations as to whether the foreign producers are violating U.S. antidumping law by selling their products at less than fair value in the United States, and U.S. countervailing duty law covering government subsidies. The Commerce Department will calculate antidumping margins, which are designed to offset the amount by which the product is sold at less than fair value. Estimated antidumping duties will be collected from importers as of the date of the Commerce Department's preliminary determination, which will occur on March13, 2014. If foreign producers attempt to "beat the clock" by making massive shipments into the U.S. market before the Commerce Department's preliminary determination, antidumping duties can be imposed retroactively beginning 90 days prior to the preliminary determination. The preliminary determination in the Chinese subsidy case will be made by Commerce on December30, 2013.
JamesL. Wainscott, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of AK Steel Corporation stated, "We are very pleased that the ITC has made this favorable determination. We expect all of our competitors to operate according to the rules of fair trade, and this is a key step in moving the case forward."
RichardJ. Harshman, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Allegheny Technologies Incorporated, parent company of ATI Allegheny Ludlum, stated, "The ITC's determination today confirms our belief that dumping and foreign government subsidization are violating U.S. laws and WTO rules. We look forward to the next step in this important case and to restoration of fair competition in the U.S. market for grain-oriented electrical steel."
LeoW. Gerard, the International President of the United Steelworkers said, "The USW is pleased that the ITC has taken this important step in the fight against job-killing unfair trade practices as demonstrated in our petitions."
"Imports of unfairly low priced GOES from the seven countries have caused injury to the domestic industry and its workers, and devastated pricing in the U.S. market," said DavidA. Hartquist of Kelley Drye & Warren, LLP, attorney for petitioners. "We appreciate the fact that the ITC has recognized this in its preliminary injury decision. The focus now turns to the Commerce Department, where we will be working aggressively to prove the substantial antidumping and countervailing duty margins demonstrated in our petition. The dumping margins range from 38.54 percent to 257.61 percent, reflecting the amount of additional import duties which would be imposed on GOES imports from the various countries."
GOES is an alloy steel that contains by weight at least 0.6 percent of silicon and not more than 0.08 percent of carbon, and may also contain not more than 1 percent of aluminum by weight. The petitions cover GOES that is sold in either sheet or strip form, in coils or in straight lengths. GOES is manufactured using a specialized rolling and annealing process that yields grain structures uniformly oriented in the rolling (or lengthwise) direction of the sheet, enabling it to conduct a magnetic field with a high degree of efficiency. Based on these unique product characteristics, GOES is used primarily in the production of laminated cores for large and medium-sized electrical power transformers and distribution transformers.
The petitioners are represented in these actions by David A. Hartquist and John M. Herrmann of the law firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.
SOURCEKelley Drye & Warren LLP
