The Mexican international trade authority, the Ministry of Economy, said that it will preliminarily maintain the antidumping duties (AD) on imports of seamless carbon steel pipe from South Korea, Spain, India and Ukraine, established in 2018 of up to $378 per metric ton (mt). Additionally, a 25 percent tax will be charged.
In April 2018, Mexico decreed definitive compensatory quotas on definitive and temporary imports of $0.1312 per kilogram ($131.2/mt) on imports from the Iljin Steel company and other South Korean exporters. For imports from Ukraine it was $170.1/mt; of $206.7/mt for imports from India and $307.5/mt for imports from the company Tubos Reunidos Industrial and the rest of the exporting companies in Spain.
“The administrative procedure for the ex officio review of the compensatory duties is continued, without modifying those indicated in point 1 of this Resolution,” the Ministry of Economy published today in a statement in the official Mexican gazette (DOF).
Currently, the product is imported into Mexico with the tariff item 7304.19.01, 7304.19.02, 7304.19.99, 7304.39.10, 7304.39.11, 7304.39.12, 7304.39.13, 7304.39.99 and additionally those imported through the tariff sections 7304.39.91 and 7304.39.92 of the Law of General Import and Export Taxes (TIGIE).
Of the first eight items, the temporary tariff (until July 2025) of 25 percent will also be charged on steel products from countries with which Mexico does not have free trade agreements.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the product subject to the ex officio review is seamless carbon steel pipe with a nominal diameter greater than or equal to 2 inches (60.3 millimeters of external diameter) and less than or equal to 16 inches (406.4 millimeters). of external diameter), regardless of the wall thickness, end or grade of steel with which it is manufactured.
It includes the so-called conduction pipe or standard pipe, pressure pipe and line pipe. Used pipe, mechanical pipe, hollow bars, boiler pipe, epoxy coated, ballasted or galvanized pipe, alloy pipe and stainless pipe are not products subject to ex officio review.
The announcement made today is part of the first sunset review requested by the steel company Tubos de Acero de México (TAMSA), a unit of Tenaris, a world leader in the production of seamless steel tubes for the oil industry in the world. Tenaris, like the steel company Ternium, are part of the Techint Group, the #26 company in the world in steel production, according to statistics from the World Steel Association.
According to the Ministry of Economy, TAMSA is the only producer of seamless steel pipes in Mexico. In March of last year, the Mexican government began the administrative procedure to examine the validity and ex officio review of the compensatory duties and now with the preliminary resolution, it said that the interested parties have, as of today, 20 business days to present arguments and complementary evidence that they deem relevant.