Department of Commerce announces imposition of taxes, claiming raw materials come from China.
The US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced final affirmative rulings on May 21 that corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) and certain cold-rolled steel flat products (cold-rolled steel) imported from Vietnam and produced from substrate originating in China are circumventing the anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders on CORE and cold-rolled steel imported from China.
As a result of its announcement, DOC will instruct Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue collecting cash deposits on imports of CORE and cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate.
US law provides that DOC may find circumvention of AD/CVD orders when merchandise that is the same class or kind as merchandise subject to existing orders is completed or assembled in a third country prior to importation into the US.
CBP will continue to collect AD and CVD cash deposits on imports of CORE produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate at rates of 199.43 per cent and 39.05 per cent, respectively. It will also collect AD and CVD cash deposits on imports of cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate at rates of 199.76 per cent and 256.44 per cent, respectively.
The cash deposit rates were previously established in the AD and CVD investigations on cold-rolled steel and CORE from China. Cash deposits will apply to all unliquidated entries on or after November 4, 2016; the date the inquiries were initiated. Importers and exporters of Vietnamese merchandise that is produced from substrate originating in Vietnam or a third-country have the option of seeking an exemption from cash deposits by certifying that the substrate originated outside of China.
Shipments of CORE from Vietnam to the US increased from $2 million to $80 million after preliminary duties were imposed on Chinese products in 2015. Likewise, shipments of cold-rolled steel from Vietnam to the US increased from $9 million to $215 million after preliminary duties were imposed on Chinese products in 2015.
These inquiries were conducted in response to requests from US domestic producers of CORE and cold-rolled steel: Steel Dynamics, Inc., California Steel Industries, AK Steel Corporation, ArcelorMittal USA LLC, Nucor Corporation, and US Steel Corporation.
The DOC’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing US trade laws and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international law and is based solely on factual evidence.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade worked with the Vietnam Steel Association and related businesses to closely monitor the case from the beginning of the investigation in November 2016. The ministry has repeatedly expressed its official views on the case with the US and requested DOC conduct an objective investigation in accordance with WTO rules and US practice, and not to apply this measure on Vietnamese exporters.
The association and steel manufacturers in Vietnam also closely cooperated with the US to clarify the origin of raw materials and the process of steel production in Vietnam.
DOC has offered exemptions from these measures if Vietnamese steel exporters can prove that the exported products are not made from Chinese materials. The ministry will continue to cooperate with related businesses to complete DOC’s procedures for exemptions.
By Nghi Do – Vneconomictimes