Posted on 30 Apr 2015
The U.S. International Trade Commission has decided to retain current anti-dumping and countervailing duty measures against makers of steel tubes from China, ruling their revocation would likely lead to abuses "within a reasonably foreseeable time."
The Oil Country Tubular Goods at issue in Tuesday's ruling are steel tubes and pipes used for oil drilling. Steel produced for the energy market, such as the products at issue in the ITC ruling, account for approximately 10 percent of domestic steel production and nearly 8,000 U.S. jobs, according to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.
The Ohio Democrat's office said imports of that type of steel have doubled since 2008, and up to half the pipes used for oil and gas drilling in the United States are now imported.
U.S. Steel is among companies affected by the unanimous ITC ruling. Earlier this year, the Pittsburgh company announced it would temporarily shut down a plant in Lorain that makes that sort of steel, laying off 614 workers. It attributed the shutdown to unfair competition from foreign companies, as well as falling oil prices reducing drillers' demand for its pipes and tubes.
A U.S. Steel spokeswoman said the company is pleased by the ITC decision, "as it ensures a continued level playing field against Chinese OCTG imports."
"Unfortunately, there are currently global market factors that have resulted in the temporary idling of Lorain Tubular Operations, including the weak oil and gas market and a strong dollar, and we are unable to speculate as to when production may resume," said the company's Sarah Cassella.
A statement from Brown called the ruling "good news."
"We know Ohio workers can compete with any foreign competitor, but they need a level playing field," Brown's statement said.
Ohio GOP U.S. Sen. Rob Portman was also pleased with the ruling.
"Ohio pipe and tube workers are among the best in the world, but we must stand up to foreign competitors who break trade rules at the expense of Ohio workers," said a statement from Portman.
