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David Brooks, Tom Friedman can hurl their "protectionist" insults
over the Pacific. The International Trade Commission found China
subsidizes a particular sub-part of its metal tubing industry by up to 77%.
A press release appears below the fold with some details.
Schagrin Associates
900 Seventh Street, NW Suite 500
Washington, DC 20001
202-223-1700
*************
PRESS RELEASE
U.S. Light Walled Rectangular Steel Tubing Producers Support
Affirmative Commerce Department Subsidy Finding Against Imports From
China
For Immediate Release November 27,
2007
Contact information: Roger Schagrin, Schagrin Associates (202) 223-1700
Tamara Browne, Schagrin Associates (202) 223-1700
_______________________________________________________________________
Washington, D.C. – Today thirteen U.S. producers of
light-walled rectangular steel tubing, known in the industry as
ornamental tubing, applauded the Department of Commerce for its
preliminary countervailing duty (CVD) finding that the Government of
China has been subsidizing their Chinese competitors.
In its preliminary determination, the Commerce
Department determined subsidies of 0.27 to 77.85 percent. The
average rate applied to all other Chinese exporters will be 2.99
percent.
Lee Searing, President of Searing Industries, Rancho
Cucamonga, California stated “Our family owned company and our
employees can not compete with the billions of dollars of government
subsidized steel production in China and the direct subsidies to tubing
producers. This is a welcome first step in leveling the playing
field for U.S. producers.”
Light-walled rectangular tubing is used in
construction, ornamental fencing, and in furniture and a myriad of
other products. Parry Katsafanas, President of Leavitt Tube LLC,
Chicago, Illinois stated “Our company’s Jackson, Mississippi plant is
focused almost exclusively on producing these products. Our
production and employment there have been hammered by unfairly traded
imports from China, as well as dumped imports into the Gulf Coast from
Mexico, Turkey and Korea. It is important to our company to
impose these duties so our production, employment and profits improve.”
The China CVD case was filed on June 27, 2007 along
with anti-dumping cases against China, Korea, Mexico and Turkey.
The petitioners were: Allied Tube & Conduit Corporation, Harvey,
Illinois; Atlas Tube, Plymouth, Michigan; Bull Moose Tube, St. Louis
Missouri; California Steel and Tube, City of Industry, California,
EXLTUBE, North Kansas City, Missouri; Hannibal Industries, Los Angeles,
California; Leavitt Tube Company LLC, Chicago, Illinois; Maruichi
American Corporation, Santa Fe Springs, California; Searing Industries,
Rancho Cucamonga, California; Southland Tube, Birmingham, Alabama;
Vest, Inc., Los Angeles, California; Welded Tube, Delta, Ohio and
Huger, South Carolina and Western Tube & Conduit, Long Beach,
California.
John Montgomery Jr., Executive Vice President of
Southland Tube, Birmingham, Alabama, stated “This is very important
initial relief for our family owned company and our workers. We
would also like to thank our U.S. Representative, Artur Davis, and our
U.S. Senators, Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, for their tireless
efforts to get the anti-subsidy laws applied to China.”
Imports from the four countries increased from
180,720 tons in 2004 to 315,305 tons in 2006, or by 74.5 percent.
In particular, imports of ornamental tubing from China increased from
8,859 tons in 2004 to 80,466 tons through September 2007.
Roger B. Schagrin of Schagrin Associates, a
Washington D.C. law firm that is counsel to the petitioners stated “I
compliment the Secretary of Commerce and his staff for working their
way through complex and novel issues in their application of the
countervailing duty law to China. We are hopeful that these rates
will increase after Commerce verifies the Chinese producer
responses. However, after twenty-six years of representing U.S.
producers in trade litigation it is imperative that this industry win
its injury case next spring at the U.S. International Trade Commission
(ITC) to ensure that these duties remain in effect.”
The Department of Commerce will announce its
preliminary dumping determination against these same imports from
China, and from Korea, Mexico and Turkey on January 24, 2008. The
final determinations in all cases will be 75 or 135 days later. The ITC
will issue final injury determinations 45 days after the final Commerce
decisions.
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