Congressional Steel Caucus worried duties on Chinese steel weakend

06/11/2012 12:00 - 427 Views

The Congressional Steel Caucus is again jumping into the fray over concerns about rising steel imports, particularly from China.

This time the caucus is calling on the Department of Commerce to continue to enforce the 2010 trade ruling that places anti-dumping and countervailing duties on steel pipe, known as oil country tubular goods (OCTG).

The duties were placed in 2010 following a case brought by a group of domestic producers including United States Steel Corp. and the industry labor group United Steelworkers.

In a letter addressed to Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank, the caucus, which is led by U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, said there are attempts to weaken the anti-dumping and countervailing duties by evading them and narrowing the scope of products covered.

“If allowed to succeed, these attempts will have the disastrous consequence of enabling Chinese producers and exports to continue to ship dumped and subsidized Chinese OCTG to the United States without paying the legally required AD and CVD duties, causing further injury to U.S. jobs and businesses,” the letter stated.

Friday, November 2, 2012, 4:24pm EDT

By Malia Spencer

Source: Pittsburgh Business Times