Three New AD/CVD Petitions: Steel Shelves, Steel Cylinders, Brass Rod

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Adams Lee

Last week saw a flurry of activity with three new AD/CVD petitions:

(1) Boltless Steel Shelving Units from India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam (AD only);

(2) Brass Rod from Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea (AD/CVD); and

(3) Non-Refillable Cylinders from India (AD/CVD)

Two of these petitions are sequels of AD/CVD cases on the same product from China that happened a few years ago. AD/CVD orders were imposed on boltless steel shelving from China in October 2015. Non-refillable cylinders from China was hit with AD/CVD orders in May 2021. After these Chinese products had prohibitively high AD/CVD duties imposed, U.S. buyers still were unable or unwilling to buy from the domestic producers and instead looked to find alternative import sources. The petitioners now seek yet another round of protective duties against the increased import volumes from these new countries that replaced the Chinese supply.

The third case, brass rod, has not been subject to a previous AD/CVD investigation. But one of the petitioners in that case, Mueller Brass Co., is part of the Mueller group that is a long-time user of US trade laws. Mueller successfully got AD duties imposed on imports of seamless copper pipes and tubes, first from China and Mexico in November 2010 and Vietnam in August 2021. The beneficial impact from the AD orders on copper pipes and tubes probably influenced the decision to seek AD/CVD duties on this new case on brass rod.

The U.S. Department of Commerce ("DOC") and U.S. International Trade Commission ("ITC") will conduct investigations to further examine the allegations made in the petition. DOC will investigate whether the named subject imports are being sold to the United States at less than fair value ("dumping") or benefit from unfair government subsidies. ITC will investigate whether the subject imports are causing "material injury" or "threat of material injury" to the domestic industry.

Companies in these industries – importers, distributors, purchasers–are probably already familiar from the prior cases with the disruptive impact that AD/CVD investigations can have. This new round of cases mostly involve market economy countries (except for Vietnam), which is a significant difference from the prior cases against China, which is considered a non-market economy. DOC calculates AD margins in market economy cases using the company's actual costs. In contrast, DOC in non-market economy cases against China (and Vietnam) will not use the company's actual costs, but instead will use a surrogate value methodology that tends to inflate the AD margins, sometimes quite significantly. If the foreign producers and exporters in these cases can successfully navigate their way through the DOC antidumping process, their AD margins will hopefully be lower than the AD margins imposed on those products from China.

As companies outside China step up their efforts to reduce or eliminate China from their supply chains, we should expect the number of AD/CVD investigations of exports from outside China to increase, based simply on the numbers.

Below are the petition summaries:

Boltless Steel Shelving Units from India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam

On April 25, 2023, Edsal Manufacturing Co., Inc. filed antidumping (AD) petitions against boltless steel shelving units pre-packaged for sale from India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Scope

The proposed scope definition of this case is the same as the scope of the AD/CVD orders on boltless steel shelving prepackaged for sale from China. The boltless steel shelving covered by this investigation may be commonly described as rivet shelving, welded frame shelving, slot and tab shelving and punched rivet (quasi-rivet) shelving as well as by other trade names.

See the full scope definition here for more specific definitions of "boltless", "decks", "prepackaged for sale" and "add-on kits" that are relevant to identifying what products are covered by this AD investigation.

Alleged AD/CVD Margins.

Petitioner calculated estimated dumping margins for the named countries:

India- 215.77%.

Malaysia: 41.29% – 232.94%

Taiwan: 217.66%

Thailand: 177.72% – 188.06%

Vietnam: 85.24% – 205.49%

Named Exporters/ Producers

Petitioner included a list of companies it believes are producers and exporters of the subject merchandise. See attached list here.

Named U.S. Importers

Petitioner included a list of companies that it believes are U.S. importers of the subject merchandise. See attached list here.

Estimated Schedule of Investigations.

April 25, 2023 – Petitions filed

May 15, 2023 – DOC initiates investigation

May 16, 2023 – ITC Staff Conference

June 9, 2023 – ITC preliminary determination

November 21, 2023 – DOC AD preliminary determination (assuming extended deadline) (10/2/23 – unextended)

April 4, 2024 – DOC final determination (extended)

May 19, 2024 – ITC final determination (extended)

May 26, 2024 – DOC AD/CVD orders issued (extended)

Non-Refillable Cylinders from India

On April 27, 2023, Worthington Industries filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions against Non-Refillable Cylinders from India.

Scope

The proposed scope definition (see here) defines the subject merchandise as "certain seamed (welded or brazed), non-refillable steel cylinders meeting the requirements of, or produced to meet the requirements of, US Department of Transportation specification 39, Transport Canada specification 39M, or United Nations pressure receptacle standard ISO 11118 and otherwise meeting the description provided below ("non-refillable steel cylinders").

The requested scope of this investigation differs from the prior investigation on non-refillable steel cylinders from China with regard to capacity. This proposed scope covers non-refillable steel cylinders that "range from 100-cubic inch (1.6 liter) water capacity to 1,526-cubic inch (25 liter) water capacity," which is a modification of the prior scope covering non-refillable steel cylinders with a lower-end water capacity of 300 cubic inches. (4.9 liters).

Specifically excluded are seamless non-refillable steel cylinders.

The merchandise subject to these orders is properly classified under statistical reporting numbers 7311.00.0060 and 7311.00.0090 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). These are basket categories that contain non-subject merchandise as well. The merchandise may also enter under HTSUS statistical reporting numbers 7310.29.0030 and 7310.29.0065. Although the HTSUS statistical reporting numbers are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is dispositive.

Alleged AD/CVD Margins.

Petitioner calculated estimated dumping margins of 11.20 – 56.52%.

Named Exporters/ Producers

Petitioner included a list of companies that it believes are producers and exporters of the subject merchandise. See attached list of exporters here.

Named U.S. Importers

Petitioner included a list of companies that it believes are U.S. importers of the subject merchandise. See attached list of importers here.

Estimated Schedule of Investigations.

April 27, 2023 – Petitions filed

May 17, 2023 – DOC initiates investigation

May 18, 2023 – ITC Staff Conference

June 12, 2023 – ITC preliminary determination

September 24, 2023 – DOC CVD preliminary determination (assuming extended deadline) (7/21/23 – unextended)

November 23, 2023 – DOC AD preliminary determination (assuming extended deadline) (10/4/23 – unextended)

April 6, 2024 – DOC final determination (extended and AD/CVD aligned)

May 21, 2024 – ITC final determination (extended)

May 28, 2024 – DOC AD/CVD orders issued (extended)

Brass Rod from Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea

On April 27, 2023, the American Brass Rod Fair Trade Coalition, consisting of Mueller Brass Co., based in Port Huron, Michigan and Wieland Chase LLC, based in Montpelier, Ohio filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions seeking the imposition of antidumping (AD) duties on imports of brass rods from six countries, Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea. The petitions also seek the imposition of countervailing (CVD) duties on imports from India, Israel and South Korea.

Scope

The proposed scope definition defines the products covered by these petitions as brass rod, which is defined as "leaded, low-lead, and no-lead solid brass made from certain alloys". See here for full proposed scope definition.

Alleged AD/CVD Margins.

Petitioner calculated estimated dumping margins for the name countries:

Brazil: 62.62%

India: 10.20%

Israel: 20.00%

Mexico: 63.76%

South Africa: 27.99%

South Korea: 12.75%

The petitions did not identify any specific subsidy rates for India, Israel or South Korea.

Named Exporters/ Producers

Petitioner included a list of companies that it believes are producers and exporters of the subject merchandise. See attached list here.

Named U.S. Importers

Petitioner included a list of companies that it believes are U.S. importers of the subject merchandise. See attached list here.

Estimated Schedule of Investigations.

April 27, 2023 – Petitions filed

May 17, 2023 – DOC initiates investigation

May 18, 2023 – ITC Staff Conference

June 12, 2023 – ITC preliminary determination

September 24, 2023 – DOC CVD preliminary determination (assuming extended deadline) (7/21/23 – unextended)

November 23, 2023 – DOC AD preliminary determination (assuming extended deadline) (10/4/23 – unextended)

April 6, 2024 – DOC final determination (extended and AD/CVD aligned)

May 21, 2024 – ITC final determination (extended)

May 28, 2024 – DOC AD/CVD orders issued (extended)

Adams Lee

Adams Lee has more than twenty years’ experience providing strategic advice and legal guidance on complex international trade and administrative regulatory matters to US and foreign companies, trade associations, and foreign governments. He advises companies in a broad range of industries on international trade remedy and trade policy issues.Adams brings a wealth of knowledge to Harris Bricken's international trade practice. He is adept at quickly evaluating strategic options and developing the best comprehensive legal approach in light of relevant policy and case law. Beyond achieving significant DOC and ITC results that improve his clients’ competitive position, Adams helps them understand complex trade issues so they can make well-informed business decisions.

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