Nucor Fastener Files Antidumping Case Against China and Taiwan
FEATURE
Fastener worker at Nucor Fastener facility in St. Joe, IN (courtesy Nucor Fastener).
Nucor Fastener filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions alleging that Chinese exports of standard fasteners, including structural bolts, nuts and capscrews, are subsidized by the Chinese government, and that Chinese and Taiwanese fastener producers are dumping their products in the U.S.
“The Chinese and Taiwanese producers have been dumping their products in the United States at unfair prices, and the American producers of standard fasteners have suffered,” said Alan Price of Wiley Rein’s International Trade Practice, counsel to Nucor Fastener. “To keep manufacturing, and manufacturing jobs, in the country, it is essential that the U.S. government vigorously enforce our trade laws, especially during hard economic times like we are experiencing now.”
The petitions, filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission, allege average dumping margins for Chinese imports of 145%, and of 74% for imports from Taiwan.
If successful, the petitions could lead to the imposition of special antidumping and countervailing duties on fasteners imported from China and Taiwan.
Nucor Fastener’s action follows news that fastener producers in China are eyeing offshore production to circumvent the 85% duties imposed by the European Union in January. The EU consumed about one-third of fastener exports from China until the tariffs began.
Chinese companies are looking into setting up factories in Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia to circumvent the 85% tariffs imposed by the EU.
In addition, Chinese fastener producers feel pressure from companies in Russia that are calling for a tariff investigation as well.
Chinese fastener producers have expressed concern that if Russia successful applies duties to Chinese fastener exports, the U.S. may follow suit.
“Once these vicious effects occur, Chinese fastener industry will be highly impacted since as much as 40% of Chinese fasteners are exported to America,” Chinese Enterprise News reports.
Nucor Fastener appeared to act alone when it filed the petitions.
“This is purely the action of one company taking perfectly legal steps to protect it’s own interest,” Industrial Fasteners Institute managing director Rob Harris told FIN.
In January the EU adopted antidumping duties on certain fasteners from China after concluding that Chinese producers had flooded the market with fasteners at 30% to 50% below European prices.
The general EU tariff for a range of imported fasteners is 85%. Products involved are covered by 10 CN tariff codes, including woodscrews, drywall screws, self tapping screws, machine screws, various other small screws, mild steel and high tensile hex bolts and screws, socket screws, bolts with other heads, spring and flat washers.
China responded by filing an official complaint with the World Trade Organization, claiming the EU tariffs were “neither impartial nor transparent,” and that they hurt over 1,700 Chinese fastener manufacturers.
In the wake of the EU tariffs, China exports of steel and copper fasteners have plunged, with export numbers showing a 45% decline in fastener exports to 850,000 tons, with the value declining 45.4% to US$1.31 billion.
The EU’s resolve does not appear limited to China. In August the European Commission launched an anti-dumping and an anti-subsidy investigation on stainless steel fasteners imported from India and Malaysia to the European Union. ©2009 GlobalFastenerNews.com
For complete coverage of Nucor’s trade dispute, subscribe to GlobalFastenerNews.com.
Related Stories:
• PERSPECTIVE: EIFI Confident on Stainless Tariffs
Related Links:
There are no comments at the moment, do you want to add one?
Write a comment