The US Department of Commerce (DOC) today announced its preliminary determination that imports of stainless steel sheet and strip from China are being sold at less than fair value in the United States. As a result, the DOC will instruct US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to begin requiring US importers of stainless steel sheet and strip from China to deposit estimated antidumping duties at the time of importation.
Further, based on its previously announced preliminary affirmative critical circumstances determination, the DOC will instruct CBP to require US importers to post security equal to the preliminary antidumping rates on entries of stainless steel sheet and strip from China that were imported into the United States on or after the date that is 90 days prior to the date of publication in the Federal Register of the affirmative preliminary antidumping duty determination.
The DOC assigned a preliminary antidumping margin of 76.64 percent of the value of the imported stainless steel sheet and strip to Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd., the sole Chinese respondent that was subject to mandatory investigation. The DOC established a preliminary antidumping margin of 63.86 percent for two Chinese entities with operations that the agency determined are not controlled by the Government of China and, thus, were preliminarily determined to be eligible for a company-specific separate rate.
In addition, the DOC established a preliminary antidumping duty margin of 76.64 percent on imports of stainless steel sheet and strip from all other Chinese entities.
Petitions in the case were filed in February of this year by AK Steel, Allegheny Ludlum, North American Stainless, and Outokumpu USA, LLC. In July, the DOC announced its preliminary determination that imports of stainless steel sheet and strip from China benefit from subsidies bestowed by the Government of China, with subsidy margins ranging from 57.30 percent to 193.12 percent of the value of the imported product. The antidumping margins announced today by the DOC will generally be applied in combination with the previously announced subsidy margins calculated by the agency.
The current deadline for the announcement of final determinations is in late November 2016, although the deadline could be extended until late January 2017.
The current deadline for the announcement of final determinations is in late November 2016, although the deadline could be extended until late January 2017.