May 24, 2012

US Hits Indian Steel Pipe Exporter With Anti-Dumping Duties

Washington DC – The US government on May 24, 2012 announced anti-dumping duties of more than 48 percent on a major Indian steel pipe exporter, along with other companies from Vietnam, Oman and United Arab Emirates.

Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the US at less than fair value, the Commerce Department said.

“In the India investigation, the mandatory respondent Zenith Birla (India) Limited (previously known as Zenith Steel Pipes and Industries Ltd.) received a preliminary dumping margin of 48.43 percent,” said the Department of Commerce in its statement.

With anti-dumping measures already in place on certain steel pipe from India, the department noted that the current investigation covered “only merchandise manufactured and/or exported by Zenith Birla (India) Limited (previously known as Zenith Steel Pipes and Industries Ltd.), which is excluded from the 1986 order.”

Just a month ago, India took the US to the World Trade Organization (WTO) when the US imposed a duty of nearly 286% on some steel pipes, saying the Indian manufacturers had been unfairly subsidized by their government.

According to the documents, the pipes under investigations were generally known as “standard pipe, fence pipe and tube, sprinkler pipe, and structural pipe (although the subject product may also be referred to as mechanical tubing if it is made to standard sizes for subject standard pipe.”

The US Commerce Department is scheduled to make its determination for India in early August 2012, with the final decision from the US International Trade Commission (ITC) on or before September 20, 2012, according to officials.

Allied Tube and Conduit (IL), JMC Steel Group (IL), Wheatland Tube (PA), and United States Steel Corporation (PA) had petitioned the US government for import relief. Zenith Birla was yet to respond to a request for comments from India America Today.

With India being one of the biggest steel producers in the world, steel manufacturers in India buy a large amount of their iron ore from the state-owned National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), the country’s largest iron ore producer.

There are concerns in US trade circles that NMDC might be supplying iron ore at subsidized prices to the country’s steel makers, giving them an unfair advantage.

India countered the argument, saying the corporation sold iron ore at prevailing market rates and in addition, NMDC exported iron ore to Japan and South Korea with prices under the international market scanners.

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