Russia Flat-Rolled Steel Products: ITA May Terminate Suspension Agreement
The International Trade Administration issued the preliminary results of its administrative review of the Suspension Agreement on hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel products from Russia (A-821-809), which said the Agreement is no longer meeting its statutory requirements because Russian exports of subject merchandise are undercutting U.S. prices. These preliminary results are not in effect. If they do not change in the final results, and no agreement is reached with Russia to modify the Agreement, the ITA will terminate the Agreement and suspend liquidation for all entries of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 90 days prior to the date of termination of the Agreement.
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(On July 12, 1999, the ITA signed an agreement with Russia suspending the antidumping duty investigation on hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon quality steel products from the Russian Federation. The Agreement’s terms established annual quota limits and a reference price mechanism to provide minimum prices for sales of Russian hot-rolled steel imports into the U.S. market. Upon the request of the petitioners, the investigation was continued and the ITA and International Trade Commission made an affirmative final antidumping determination and an affirmative injury determination, respectively.)
Preliminary Determination that Agreement No Longer Complies with Statutory Requirements
The ITA preliminarily determined in this review, which was initiated on the basis of a request by domestic industry, that the Agreement’s reference price mechanism, in its current form, is no longer preventing price undercutting by Russian imports of hot-rolled steel into the U.S. market, and, as a result, the Agreement is no longer fulfilling its statutory requirement.
ITA in Discussions with Russia to Amend Agreement
In February 2012, the ITA and Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development began discussions on the alleged sales of Russian hot-rolled steel imports at prices that call into question the effectiveness of the Agreement’s reference price mechanism and whether the Agreement is fulfilling its statutory mandate to prevent the undercutting and suppression of domestic hot-rolled steel prices. The ITA said it intends to move forward with additional consultations with MED during this administrative review, as mutually agreed, in an attempt to resolve these concerns and to bring the Agreement back into alignment with its statutory requirement to prevent the undercutting of domestic price levels for hot-rolled steel.
Liquidation to be Suspended if no Change in Final Results and no Amendment to Agreement
If the ITA makes no changes to these preliminary results in the final results of this review, and no amendment to the Agreement is agreed upon by the U.S. and Russia, the ITA expects to terminate this Agreement. If the ITA terminates this Agreement, it will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation of all entries of hot-rolled steel from Russia that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on the date which is 90 days before the date of publication of the notice of termination of the Agreement.