The Commerce Department began on Dec. 7 antidumping duty investigations on non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) from China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Sweden and Taiwan, and countervailing duty investigations on NOES from China, South Korea and Taiwan. The investigations were requested in late September by AK Steel, alleging dumped and subsidized imports from these six countries are cutting into domestic market share, sales, and revenue (see 13101707). NOES is a steel product used in the production of large and small motors, generators, lighting ballasts, and ignition coils.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced on Nov. 6 the preliminary results of its antidumping investigation on U.S., Canadian and Brazilian cellulose pulp exports, deciding dumped cellulose pulp imports damaged Chinese industry, said MOFCOM. MOFCOM set preliminary dumping margins for U.S. companies at 18.7 - 29.8 percent, while Canadian margins are 0.7 - 50.9 percent and Brazilian margins are 6.8 - 49.4 percent. U.S., Canadian and Brazilian cellulose pulp exporters are now subject to cash deposit requirements. The Chinese tariff number cellulose pulp products are 47020000, 47032100, 47061000 and 47063000. The products are largely used in production of chemical fibers, such as viscose fibers, viscose staple fiber and viscose filament yarn, said MOFCOM.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Nov. 7 Federal Register on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The Commerce Department issued the preliminary results of its antidumping duty new shipper review on fresh garlic from China (A-570-831) for Shijiazhuang Goodman Trading Co., Ltd. The agency calculated a preliminary AD rate of $0.44/kg for merchandise produced by Jinxiang Zhongtian Business Co., Ltd. and exported by Goodman These preliminary results are not in effect. Commerce may modify them in the final results of this review and change the estimated AD cash deposit rate for this company.
The Commerce Department intends to exempt rectangular wire from antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions from China (A-570-967/C-570-968), it said in the preliminary results of a changed circumstances review. The partial revocation was requested by 3M in June, and to date no domestic producers have expressed any interest in maintaining AD/CVD coverage on rectangular wire, despite Commerce’s request for comments in August (see 13081921). If in the final results Commerce continues to find rectangular wire should be exempted from AD/CV duties, it will add the following exclusion paragraph to the scope of the AD/CV duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China:
In its most recent addition to its initial public offering filing, Twitter said IBM is accusing the social media company of infringing on three of IBM’s patents. The patents in dispute are U.S. Patent No. 6,957,224 ("Effective retrieval of uniform resource locators"), No. 7,072,849 ("Method for presenting advertising in an interactive service") and No. 7,099,862 ("Programmatic discovery of common contacts"), said the S-1 SEC filing (http://1.usa.gov/171tw9W). “Based upon our preliminary review of these patents, we believe we have meritorious defenses to IBM’s allegations, although there can be no assurance that we will be successful in defending against these allegations or reaching a business resolution that is satisfactory to us,” said Twitter’s filing.
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on steel threaded rod from China (A-570-932). Changes to the preliminary results caused AD rates to fall for both reviewed companies. Commerce didn't individually review Zhejiang New Oriental, instead assigning it the same rate calculated for RMB/IFI. The new rates are effective Nov. 5, and will be implemented by CBP soon.
The International Trade Commission voted on Nov. 1 to continue the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on steel concrete reinforcing bar from Mexico and Turkey, finding a “reasonable indication” of harm to U.S. industry in its preliminary injury vote. The ITC voted unanimously that Turkish rebar exports are hurting U.S. producers, and 3-1 that Mexican exports are having a negative effect. A domestic coalition asked for AD and CV duties on Turkish and Mexican rebar in September (see 13090614). The Commerce Department will next issue its preliminary determination, at which point AD and CV duty cash deposit requirements will come into effect if the agency finds dumping or illegal subsidization.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Oct. 31 Federal Register on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The preliminary September steel imports registered at $2.3 billion (2.5 million metric tons) compared to the August $2.5 billion (2.6 million metric tons) import figure, said the Census Bureau on Oct. 31. “The September change in steel imports based on metric tonnage reflected decreases primarily in oil country goods, standard pipe, and blooms, billets and slabs,” said Census. The 2013 statistics, through August, showed steel imports of 19.2 million, a slight decrease from 2012 figures. Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the Census statement.