[Ferro-Alloys.com] The United States International Trade Commission made the ruling that the corrosion-resistant plate imported from China, India, Italy, ROK and Taiwan, China had made substantive damages to its domestic industries on June 25 (Washington time). Therefore, the US Customs will levy tax on the corrosion-resistant plate imported from China at 209.97% rate of anti-dumping and 39.05% rate of countervailing confirmed by the US Department of Commerce previously. Official from Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau made comments on this.

The Official said the cold-rolled sheet and galvanized sheet are two kinds of steel products with the largest export volume of the Chinese enterprises to the U.S., accounting for over half of the U.S. steel products imported from China. On June 22, the U.S. decided to levy high anti-dumping and countervailing duty to China’s cold-rolled sheet, one week after which the U.S. decided to take trade restriction measures against the corrosion-resistant plate imported from China. The high anti-dumping and countervailing duty decided by the U.S. will make the two kinds of Chinese steel products quit form the U.S. market, which will have great impact on the export benefits of the Chinese steel enterprises. The Chinese steel industry expressed strong dissatisfaction. Against the wrong practice of the U.S. which violated the WTO rules, China is taking and will continue to take all measures including WTO litigation, to fight for the fair shake of the enterprises and maintain the export benefits of the enterprises.

The official said that, besides restricting China’s products, the U.S. also took trade restriction measures against the corrosion-resistant plates imported from India, Italy, ROK and Taiwan, China recently. In the long term, the trade protection of the U.S. government will weaken the competitiveness of the U.S. steel industry and it doesn’t accord with the overall economic interests of the U.S.. The current difficulties faced by the steel industry in the world were caused by the international financial crisis, which need the governments and industries to strengthen communication and cooperation. Frequent trade protection practices would contribute nothing to the issue. China urges the U.S. to undertake its responsibilities to combat international financial crisis, and to use trade remedy measures in steel trade prudently, so as to create favorable conditions to the development of the world steel trade and the recovery of the steel industry. 

• [Editor:Chen Zhen Seng]