U.S. Commerce Department Agrees With U.S. Steel Companies: China Subsidizing Cold-Rolled Flat Products

As Politico’s “Morning Trade” reported last Thursday, in a preliminary determination, the U.S. Commerce Department has acknowledged Brazil, China, India and Russia are subsidizing exports of cold-rolled steel flat products to the United States. (The department found no evidence South Korea is subsidizing its products.) 

China, which, according to Politico, shipped more than $500 million in cold-rolled steel flat products to the United States last year, has imposed subsidy rates of approximately 228 percent on its products, the Commerce Department said. Brazil is subsidizing its products by approximately 7.5 percent while Russia provides a subsidy of about 6.3 percent. India provides subsidies of about 4.5 percent. 

The Commerce Department said it would now instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to require cash deposits based on these preliminary rates for products from these four countries. For some Chinese companies, CBP also will be asked to impose provisional measures retroactively on entries of certain cold-rolled steel flat products. 

The department is expected to announce countervailing duty rates in this matter next May. 

AK Steel Corporation, ArcelorMittal USA LLC, Nucor Corporation, Steel Dynamics, Inc. and United States Steel Corporation are the petitioners in this case.