U.S. steel firms file dumping cases against Indonesia

U.S. steel firms file dumping cases against Indonesia

WASHINGTON (Reuters): Ten U.S. steel pipe producers and an industry group have filed anti-dumping cases against imported steel pipe products from Indonesia and other four countries, charging the imports are undercutting the competitiveness of domestic producers.

"We filed the cases because there are enormous amounts of steel tonnage being dumped from producers in five different countries for standard pipe products," said Gary Hubbard, a spokesman at the United Steelworkers of America, adding the cases were filed late Thursday with the Commerce Department.

The anti-dumping cases allege that imported steel pipe products used for plumbing and sprinkler systems from Indonesia, China, Malaysia, South Africa, and Romania increased 47 percent between 1998 and last year, rising from 182,000 tons to 268,000 tons in the period.

The cases also reiterate calls for the Bush Administration to invoke a section of federal trade law that could slap import restrictions on steel imports.

"The Administration should take action for comprehensive steel import relief that will benefit our pipe industry ... However, until that action is taken, we believe it to be prudent to individually attack these dumped imports of pipe," C. Richard Wahl, president of Wheatland Tube Co., said in a statement.

In September 2000, the federal government extended for five years anti-dumping duties on standard steel pipe from eight countries, the statement said.

Hubbard said he believed the Commerce Department would likely begin investigating the anti-dumping cases on June 13.

Earlier Friday, lawmakers from U.S. steel-producing states asked Bill Thomas, a California Republican and chairman of the House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee, for his help in launching an investigation under section 201 of the 1974 Trade Act to restrict steel imports.

Under section 201, the U.S. president can impose temporary import restrictions to give an industry time to restructure and become more competitive.

To take action, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) must first determine whether imports are a threat to domestic producers.

U.S. law permits the president, the Senate Finance Committee or the House Ways and Means Committee to ask the ITC for a section 201 probe.

The United States already has more than 120 anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders in place on steel imports.