Domestic Producers Ask for AD/CV Duties on Steel Threaded Rod from India and Thailand

According to the petition, imports of steel threaded rod from Thailand and India have increased substantially in the past few years. From 2010 to 2011, imports from Thailand and India increased by 27.8 percent, and then by another 22.9 percent in 2012. And those imports have “consistently undersold domestic industry prices by significant margins,” the petition said. “Indian and Thai [steel threaded rod] suppliers have increasingly dominated the U.S. market by offering products that significantly undersell domestic products,” the petition said. The injury this has caused to U.S. industry is evidenced by “anemic capacity utilization and low and even negative profitability on sales as the period progressed,” it said.

Suggested Scope

The petition requested the following scope for the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations: “The merchandise covered by this investigation is steel threaded rod. Steel threaded rod is certain threaded rod, bar, or studs, of carbon quality steel, having a solid, circular cross section, of any diameter, in any straight length, that have been forged, turned, cold-drawn, cold-rolled, machine straightened, or otherwise coldfinished, and into which threaded grooves have been applied. In addition, the steel threaded rod, bar, or studs subject to this investigation are nonheaded and threaded along greater than 25 percent of their total length. A variety of finishes or coatings, such as plain oil finish as a temporary rust protectant, zinc coating (i.e., galvanized, whether by electroplating or hot-dipping), paint, and other similar finishes and coatings, may be applied to the merchandise.

“Included in the scope of this investigation are steel threaded rod, bar, or studs, in which: (1) iron predominates, by weight, over each of the other contained elements; (2) the carbon content is 2 percent or less, by weight; and (3) none of the elements listed below exceeds the quantity, by weight, respectively indicated:

• 1.80 percent of manganese, or
• 1.50 percent of silicon, or
• 1.00 percent of copper, or
• 0.50 percent of aluminum, or
• 1.25 percent of chromium, or
• 0.30 percent of cobalt, or
• 0.40 percent of lead, or
• 1.25 percent of nickel, or
• 0.30 percent of tungsten, or
• 0.012 percent of boron, or
• 0.10 percent of molybdenum, or
• 0.10 percent of niobium, or
• 0.41 percent of titanium, or
• 0.15 percent of vanadium, or
• 0.15 percent of zirconium.

“Steel threaded rod is currently classifiable under subheading 7318.15.5051, 7318.15.5056, 7318.15.5090 and 7318.15.2095 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is dispositive.

“Excluded from the scope of this investigation are: (a) threaded rod, bar, or studs which are threaded only on one or both ends and the threading covers 25 percent or less of the total length; and (b) threaded rod, bar, or studs made to American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) A193 Grade B7, ASTM A193 Grade B7M, ASTM A193 Grade B16, and ASTM A320 Grade L7.”

Commerce Accepting Comments on Petition Support

The Commerce Department is accepting comments on domestic industry support for the petition to determine whether the petition meets the dual requirements of support by domestic producers or workers accounting for (1) at least 25% of the total production of the domestic like product and (2) more than 50% of the production of the domestic-like product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the petition. If the petition meets these requirements, among others, Commerce will initiate antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on steel threaded rod from Thailand and India. Comments are due by about July 17.

Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the petition.