Trade panel slaps tariff sanctions on seven nations
Trade panel slaps tariff sanctions on seven nations
Associated Press, Washington
A federal trade panel found Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico,
Moldova, Trinidad and Ukraine guilty Wednesday of dumping carbon
steel rod imports on the United States, and slapped them with
tariff sanctions of up to 369 percent for five years.
The ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission drew
applause from domestic steel rod producers, but howls of protest
from businesses that use steel rod to manufacture wire and now
predict they will have to pay even higher prices.
The new duties on steel rod imports from the seven nations
comes on top of similar tariffs imposed in 2000 by President Bill
Clinton's administration.
The Bush administration also sent a stern message to foreign
producers with three-year tariffs on certain kinds of steel in
March.
The ITC also ruled that tariffs against Germany were
unwarranted because that nation contributes less than 3 percent
of the total amount of steel rod imports. "Dumping" means that
imports are illegally sold at less than fair market value in the
United States.
"We're obviously pleased," said Thomas Danjczek, president of
the Steel Manufacturers Association in Washington. "The wire rod
industry has been injured, and the earlier tariffs had a
diminutive impact."
The SMA represents the four domestic "mini-mill" steel rod
producers that brought the case to the ITC. Those plants are: Co-
Steel Raritan, Inc. of Perth Amboy, New Jersey; GS Industries of
Charlotte, North Carolina; Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc.
of Dallas; and Northstar Steel Texas, Inc. of Edina, Minnesota.
But steel rod users said the handful of domestic mini-mills
would be unable to produce enough steel rod to satisfy the
demand.
Moreover, they said, the small businesses nationwide that make
wire out of the steel rod - and, in turn, products such as nails,
fences, and bolts - would be unable to afford the prices for
imports that the tariffs will surely prompt.
"It's devastating," said Kim Korbel, executive director for
the Virginia-based American Wire Producers Association. "There's
nothing that can be done about these for five years. Half the
industry could go into bankruptcy, and it wouldn't matter."
In Pennsylvania, Walt Robertson said his company, Johnstown
Wire Technologies, had used steel rod from two domestic producers
until both went out of business. He now buys rod mostly from
Canada and Europe - and isn't sure whether his company will be
able to turn a profit because of the tariffs.
"It's not a pretty picture," said Robertson, whose company
used the rod to make wire that is used in car seat belts and
other auto safety parts. "It's a matter of profitability and
viability. It's a struggle."