Commerce Finds Single-Weld Fittings Covered by Butt-Weld Duties
Fittings with a single welded connection on only one side may still be subject to antidumping duties on carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings from China (A-570-814), the Commerce Department said in a recent scope ruling. Though branch outlets imported by Vandewater for use in fire protection systems are threaded on one end to accept a sprinkler, they are still subject to duties on butt-weld fittings because of a welded connection on the other end, Commerce said.
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“The China Butt-Weld Order does not require that each end of the pipe fitting be welded,” Commerce said. “The scope of the order says subject fittings are used to join sections in piping systems where conditions require permanent, welded connections, as distinguished from fittings based on other fastening methods” like threading or grooves. “This scope language does not limit the scope to butt-weld pipe fittings with a welded connection on both ends,” the agency said. “A butt-weld pipe fitting with a single welded connection can be used to join pipe sections where conditions require permanent, welded connections.”
According to an International Trade Commission report issued during the original AD duty investigation, butt-weld fittings are distinguished from other types of fittings by their beveled edges, which when placed against the end of other fittings form a shallow channel that accommodates the bead of a weld. Vandewater’s fittings have that bevel on one end, and otherwise meet the terms of the scope in that their inner diameter is less than 14 inches and they are made of carbon steel. “Thus, we find that Vandewater’s description of its steel branch outlets matches the description of the scope covering butt-weld pipe fittings,” Commerce said.
Days after Commerce issued the scope ruling, it came out with a scope “clarification” intended to rectify inconsistencies between the scopes of different AD orders on fittings. The scope of ongoing antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on forged steel fittings from China, Taiwan and Italy exempts butt-weld fittings, but says “outlets with a socket-weld or threaded end connection, or with only one butt weld end connection, are not considered a butt weld fitting and, therefore, are not excluded from the scope of the investigation.”
In light of the apparently contradictory instruction, Commerce said fittings with only a single butt-weld connection are only covered by forged steel fittings duties if they aren’t already covered by the AD duty order on butt-weld pipe fittings. Fittings with all butt-welded end connections and an inside diameter of less than 14 inches are covered by the butt-weld pipe fittings orders, and such fittings with an inside diameter over 14 inches aren’t covered by either the butt-weld fittings or the forged steel fittings orders.
Fittings with at least one, but not all, butt-weld connections are included in the scope of the forged steel fittings order if they have a diameter of 14 inches or more, as long as all other requirements of the forged steel fittings orders are met. Fittings with at least one, but not all, butt-weld connections and an inside diameter of less than 14 inches are covered by the scope of carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings duties, Commerce said.
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the scope ruling and scope clarification.