The EU Commission today welcomed the US decision to revoke duties imposed on stainless steel sheet and strip in coils from Germany and Italy. Lifting the duty against European exports would resolve one of the EU’s long standing trade irritants with the US.

Since 1999, the US has imposed antidumping duties on Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip in Coils from Germany and Italy as well as other countries at 13.48% and 11.23% of the US import price. The US launched its second five-year (sunset) reviews of these measures on 1 June 2010 for Italy and Germany. On 7 October 2010 the US Department of Commerce (US DOC) found for Germany that dumping is likely to continue and on 5 May 2011 confirmed its preliminary conclusion of 20 December 2010 for Italy that dumping was also likely to continue.

On 8 July 2011, the US International Trade Commission (ITC), however, determined that injury was not likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. The US published today in the Federal Register an order that the anti-dumping duties against Italy and Germany will be revoked from 25 July 2010.

The revocation could also resolve a WTO dispute between the EU and the US concerning the refusal of the US to correct a calculation error made in the original investigation when the US imposed an anti-dumping duty of 11.23% on imports of Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip in Coils from Italy.

In 2007, the level of the duties on imports from Italy was reduced after the US DOC reviewed the dumping margins in order to remove the so-called zeroing from the calculation methodology, following successful WTO litigation by the EU. Nevertheless, the duties for Italy remained in force at the rate of 2.11% because of a calculation error in the original investigation. Without the error, there would have been no dumping and consequently no anti-dumping duty.
The EU requested WTO dispute settlement consultations on 1 April 2011 based on the US' failure to correct the calculation error with regard to Italy in the results of the preliminary review. If the order to revoke the duty in place remains final, the EU would not need to pursue further the issue in the WTO