The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on September 26, 2024, the initiation of antidumping duty (AD) investigations covering corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, the Republic of Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. Countervailing duty (CVD) investigations were simultaneously initiated for CORE from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Vietnam. Commerce set the formal initiation date as September 25, 2024, following petitions filed September 5, 2024, by a coalition of domestic steelmakers and the United Steelworkers union.
What it means
The investigations open a formal process that could result in AD orders on CORE imports from all 10 countries and CVD orders on imports from four of them. The International Trade Commission is scheduled to issue preliminary injury determinations on October 21, 2024; a negative finding at that stage would terminate the corresponding investigations. If the process proceeds, Commerce preliminary determinations on CVD are scheduled for November 29, 2024, and on AD for February 12, 2025, with final AD orders potentially issued as late as June 20, 2025, and CVD orders by April 7, 2025. Import data cited in the filing show U.S. CORE imports from Brazil alone totaled 190,262,813 kg valued at $194,222,775 in 2023, down from 200,451,073 kg valued at $287,479,040 in 2021. Australian CORE imports rose to 67,066,212 kg valued at $82,633,240 in 2023, up from 48,040,488 kg in 2021.
Petitioners for the investigations covering Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Türkiye, the UAE, and Vietnam are Steel Dynamics, Inc. (Fort Wayne, IN), Nucor Corporation (Charlotte, NC), United States Steel Corporation (Pittsburgh, PA), the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW, Washington, DC), and Wheeling-Nippon Steel, Inc. (Follansbee, WV). The Canada petitions were filed by Steel Dynamics and Nucor; the Mexico petitions by Steel Dynamics, U.S. Steel, the USW, and Wheeling-Nippon Steel.
Key facts
- AD investigations initiated: CORE from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Türkiye, UAE, and Vietnam
- CVD investigations initiated: CORE from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Vietnam
- Petition filing date: September 5, 2024; Commerce initiation date: September 25, 2024
- ITC preliminary injury determinations scheduled: October 21, 2024
- Commerce CVD preliminary determination scheduled: November 29, 2024; AD preliminary determination: February 12, 2025
- AD orders scheduled for issuance: June 20, 2025; CVD orders: April 7, 2025
- Brazil CORE imports, 2023: 190,262,813 kg / $194,222,775 (U.S. Census Bureau data via S&P Global Trade Atlas)
- Australia CORE imports, 2023: 67,066,212 kg / $82,633,240 (U.S. Census Bureau data via S&P Global Trade Atlas)
- Commerce currently maintains 708 AD and CVD orders
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, antidumping and countervailing duty investigation initiation notice (trade.gov)