Global Steel Trade; Structural Problems and Future Solutions

Metric Tons (thousands)
40
30
20
10
Import Quantity Import Price U.S. Domestic Prices
0
Jan97 Apr July Oct Jan 98 Apr July Oct
Sources: Imports and import prices, average unit values from ITC Trade
Dataweb; domestic prices, Purchasing Magazine.
2-19. U.S. Imports of Stainless Cold-Rolled Steel
$2,400
$2,200
$2,000
$1,800
$1,600
$1,400
percent decline (Chart 2-19).
U.S. domestic prices also
trended downward during this
period even though demand for
stainless products was rising.
Imports from Japan and
Korea played an important
role. Japan and Korea have
historically been significant
suppliers of stainless steel
sheet and strip to the United
States. However, between
1997 and 1998, import prices
for cold-rolled sheet and strip
from Japan and Korea showed
considerable volatility. Prices
of imports from Japan fell
from $2,151 per MT in
December 1997 to $1,363 per
MT in May 1998—a 37 percent drop. Korean prices fell from around $1,700 per MT in the last quarter
of 1997 to $1,073 per MT in November 1998—a nearly 40 percent drop. During this period, the won
devalued significantly. 91
In July 1998, the Commerce Department initiated antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings on
imports of stainless steel sheet and strip (both hot-rolled and cold-rolled) from a number of countries,
including Japan and Korea, in response to a petition filed by the major U.S. stainless steel producers.
• Commerce found dumping margins for Japanese producers ranging from 37 percent to 58 percent.
• For Korea, Commerce found dumping and subsidy margins ranging from de minimis to 59 percent.
• In the remaining cases against France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom,
Commerce found dumping and subsidy margins ranging from 1 percent to 35 percent.
The ITC determined that the U.S. industry was materially injured by dumped and subsidized imports of
stainless steel sheet and strip, noting that U.S. domestic price declines could be “attributed to a
significant degree to the increasing volume of subsidized and LTFV [less than fair value] (i.e., dumped)
imports.” 92
Other Steel Products and Dumping Cases
Similar pricing patterns appear in other product lines. For example, import prices for cut-to-length plate
fell 11 percent during 1998 and continued to decline in early 1999. In response, the industry filed
antidumping and countervailing duty cases on cut-to-length plate imports from eight countries. The cases
resulted in final affirmative decisions by both Commerce and the ITC against six countries. 93 Final
dumping margins ranged between de minimis and 72 percent. Final subsidy margins ranged between de
minimis and 48 percent.
By the end of 1999, antidumping investigations had also been filed on imports of seamless pipe from
various countries and tin mill products from Japan. Commerce found dumping margins ranging from 11
percent to 108 percent in the seamless pipe investigations and from 32 percent to 95 percent in the tin mill
products investigation.
30 Global Steel Trade: Structural Problems and Future Solutions
$ Per Metric Ton