U.S. sets antidumping duties on Japanese steel

20/05/2014 12:00 - 491 Views

WASHINGTON (Jiji Press)—The U.S. Department of Commerce said it has set preliminary antidumping duties of up to 407.52 percent on imports of nonoriented electrical steel from countries including Japan, China and Germany.

The department made the decision after finding the products were being sold at unfairly low prices in the United States.

The duties will be imposed if the department backs the preliminary decision in a final ruling and the International Trade Commission determines there has been material damage to the U.S. industry.

JFE Steel Corp., a unit of JFE Holdings Inc., and Sumitomo Corp. will face antidumping duties of 204.79 percent while other Japanese companies will face 135.59 percent, according to the preliminary decision.

The highest rate of 407.52 percent was set for products from China.

The department launched an antidumping investigation into nonoriented electrical steel imports following a complaint filed by a company in Ohio last year.

The ITC is expected to issue a ruling on Japanese firms in September.

Nonoriented magnetic steel is used mainly for motors. Last year, U.S. imports from Japan totaled about $18.5 million.

Source: The Japan News