U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Affirmative Preliminary Antidumping Duty Determinations on Imports of Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand from Eight Countries
For Immediate Release
September 24, 2020
Contact: ITA Office of Public Affairs
Phone: 202-482-3809
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) announced affirmative preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) investigations of imports of prestressed concrete steel wire (PC strand) from Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
Commerce preliminarily determined that exporters from the countries listed below have dumped PC strand in the United States at the following margins:
- 60.40 percent for Argentina
- 86.09 percent for Colombia
- 29.72 percent for Egypt
- 30.86 percent for the Netherlands
- 194.40 percent for Saudi Arabia
- 23.89 percent for Taiwan
- 53.65 percent for Turkey
- 170.65 percent for the United Arab Emirates
As a result, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits from importers of PC strand from these eight countries based on the preliminary rates noted above.
The petitions were filed by Insteel Wire Products Company (Mount Airy, NC), Sumiden Wire Products Corporation (Dickson, TN), and Wire Mesh Corporation (Houston, TX).
Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determinations in these cases on or about December 8, 2020.
If Commerce’s final determinations are affirmative, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will be scheduled to make its final injury determinations on or about January 21, 2021. If Commerce makes affirmative final determinations of dumping and the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue AD orders. If Commerce makes a negative final determination of dumping or the ITC makes a negative final determination of injury, the investigation will be terminated and no order will be issued.
The 2019, imports of PC strand from the countries under investigation were approximately valued as follows:
- $2.3 million for Argentina
- $9.6 million for Colombia
- $345.9 thousand for Egypt
- $1.6 million for the Netherlands
- $1.4 million for Saudi Arabia
- $3.0 million for Taiwan
- $13.1 million for Turkey
- $2.3 million for the United Arab Emirates
Read the fact sheet on today’s decision.
In addition to the eight AD investigations for which preliminary determinations were announced today, Commerce is also conducting seven other AD investigations of PC strand (from Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, South Africa, Spain, Tunisia, and Ukraine), and one countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of PC strand (from Turkey).
The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. Since the beginning of the current administration, Commerce has initiated 286 new AD and CVD investigations – a 267 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.
The antidumping duty law provides American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of unfair pricing of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 540 AD and CVD orders – an all-time high – providing relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.
Foreign companies that price their products in the U.S. market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to antidumping duties.
Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade laws and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international rules and is based solely on facts submitted to the public record.
