Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete focusing on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics.
Issue link: http://concrete.epubxp.com/i/821154
www.concreteproducts.com May 2017 • 21 Gerdau Ameristeel US Inc., Nucor Corp., Keystone Consolidated Industries Inc., and Charter Steel have filed petitions concurrently with the U.S. Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission charging that unfairly-traded carbon and alloy steel wire rod imports are causing material injury to the domestic industry. The petitions cover product under 19 mm in cross section, shipped in coils to drawers or fabricators of reinforcing wire mesh, pre- stressed concrete strand, chain link fence, screens and nails. They allege that producers in each of the following countries are dump- ing wire rod in the U.S. market at sizeable margins: Belarus, 179.07–304.94 percent; Italy, 26.36 percent; South Korea, 41.72– 53.09 percent; Russia, 216.50–821.40 percent; South Africa, 159.35–164.08 percent; Spain, 32.64 percent; Turkey, 45.10 percent; Ukraine, 21.64–61.64 percent; United Arab Emirates, 69.57 percent; and, the United Kingdom, 88.25 percent. Another allegation in the peti- tions is that the governments of Italy and Turkey are providing subsidies to producers through export loans, credit and insurance at preferential rates, preferential tax treatment, and government grants. "Global overcapacity is wreaking havoc on U.S. steel producers, as demonstrated by the trade orders successfully obtained on numer- ous steel products in recent years. The U.S. long product producers, including the wire rod industry, have been similarly harmed by low-priced imports," affirms Alan Price of Wiley Rein LLP, Washington, D.C., counsel for domestic producer Nucor Corp. The filing is in response to large and increasing volumes of low-priced imports of wire rod from the subject countries since 2014 that have injured U.S. producers. From 2014 to 2016, subject imports surged into the market at increasingly low prices, with volume growing by over 56 percent and aver- age price, or unit value, falling dramatically by 32 percent. The Gerdau Ameristeel/Nucor/Keystone Consolidated Industries/Charter Steel peti- tions allege that subject imports were able to penetrate the domestic market by sig- nificantly undercutting U.S. prices. As a result of increasing volumes of low-priced imports, petitioners contend, U.S. produc- ers have suffered lost sales and significant declines in prices and profits. Foreign pro- ducers of wire rod also continue to threaten the domestic industry with additional injury due to their massive and growing produc- tion capacity and extensive unused capacity that will be used to export large volumes of unfairly low-priced and subsidized product U.S. steel producers' trade petitions target wire rod imports to the United States, petitioners add. The price declines and financial deterioration that U.S. producers have suffered are likely to continue if duties are not imposed to offset the unfair trading practices, peti- tioners' counsel argues. "The substantial increase in low-priced and unfairly-traded carbon and alloy steel wire rod from the 10 subject countries since 2014 has injured American manufacturers and their workers," says Paul Rosenthal of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, Washington, D.C.-based counsel for domestic producers Gerdau Ameristeel, Keystone Consolidated Industries and Charter Steel. "Trade relief is essential to ensuring that unfairly traded imports do not continue to hammer the already-vulnerable domestic industry." GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS REGULATIONS ROTABELT WINNER 2016 53' of Reach • 360˚ Rotating Chute World's Largest Conveyor Manufacturer Patented WWW.SHUMAKERINDUSTRIES.COM 800-326-9349