Petition Filed for New AD Duties on Silicomanganese From Australia
A U.S. manufacturer filed a petition on Feb. 19 with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission asking for new antidumping duties on silicomanganese from Australia (A-602-808). Felman Production says imports of silicomanganese from Australia have nearly tripled over the past three years, entering at “aggressively low prices” that have undersold U.S.-made silicomanganese and caused the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs.
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AD duties are currently in place on silicomanganese from China, Ukraine, India, Kazakhstan and Venezuela. Now a new exporter, Australia, “has once again brought the domestic industry to its knees,” said Felman. “Absent relief from these Australian imports -- which are being dumped at a margin of 61.1 percent -- the U.S. industry's condition will continue to worsen and one or more U.S. facilities may be forced to shut down their silicomanganese operations permanently,” said the petition.
Proposed Scope
The petition proposes the following scope for the investigations:
"This petition covers all forms, sizes and compositions of silicomanganese from Australia, except low-carbon silicomanganese, including silicomanganese briquettes, fines, and slag. Silicomanganese is a ferroalloy composed principally of manganese, silicon, and iron, and normally contains much smaller proportions of minor elements, such as carbon, phosphorus, and sulfur. Silicomanganese is sometimes referred to as ferrosilicon manganese. Silicomanganese is used primarily in steel production as a source of both silicon and manganese, and sometimes as an alloying agent in the production of iron castings.
"Silicomanganese generally contains by weight not less than 4 percent iron, more than 30 percent manganese, more than 8 percent silicon and not more than 0.2 percent phosphorus. Silicomanganese is sold primarily in sized, lump form, with sizes generally varying from 8" x 4" to 2" x down, though all sizes of silicomanganese material are covered by the petition. Silicomanganese is properly classifiable under subheading 7202.30.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (‘HTSUS’).
"Low-carbon silicomanganese is excluded from the scope of this petition. Low-carbon silicomanganese contains lower levels of carbon than standard silicomanganese and higher amounts of silicon. It is sometimes referred to as ferromanganese-silicon. Low-carbon silicomanganese is used in the manufacture of stainless steel and special carbon steel grades, such as motor lamination grade steel, which requires a very low carbon content. The low-carbon silicomanganese excluded from this petition is a ferroalloy with the following chemical specifications by weight: minimum 55 percent manganese, minimum 27 percent silicon, maximum 0.10 percent phosphorus, maximum 0.10 percent carbon, and maximum 0.05 percent sulfur. Low-carbon silicomanganese is classifiable under HTSUS subheading 7202.30.0000."
Commerce Accepting Comments on Petition Support
The Commerce Department is accepting comments on domestic industry support for the petitions to determine whether the petitions meet 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 petitions meet these requirements, among others, Commerce will initiate antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on silicomanganese from Australia. Comments are due by March 11.
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the petition.