U.S. Steel Files Trade Complaint Against Chinese Steelmakers
April 26 2016 - 5:49PM
Dow Jones News
By John W. Miller
PITTSBURGH -- U.S. Steel Corp. Tuesday upped trade pressure on
China, filing a complaint that could eventually threaten Chinese
steel imports into the U.S.
The complaint, known as a Section 337 and designed to protect
the U.S. against intellectual property theft, was filed with the
International Trade Commission and demanded "the exclusion of all
unfairly traded Chinese steel products from the U.S. market."
Chinese steelmakers could face a number of penalties, including a
total ban of imports to the U.S.
In particular, U.S. Steel said that Chinese steelmakers
conspired to fix prices, stole trade secrets and circumvented
duties with false labeling.
"We have said that we will use every tool available to fight for
fair trade," said President and Chief Executive Officer Mario
Longhi. "With today's filing, we continue the work we have pursued
through countervailing and anti-dumping cases and pushing for
increased enforcement of existing laws."
The move by U.S. Steel comes amid rising tension between
American metal makers and China, which has dramatically ramped up
production and exports of steel and aluminum this decade. Chinese
steel exports rose 22% last year to 100.4 million tons, while
aluminum shipments increased 9% to 6.7 million tons.
This year already, the U.S. has slapped tariffs on imports of
several categories of Chinese steel. This month, the ITC announced
an investigation into overproduction in global aluminum, a move
that could pave the way for new tariffs on Chinese imports.
The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker lost $1.5 billion last year, and
laid off thousands of workers, laying much of the blame on China's
actions.
The company made the announcement on its own, shortly before
reporting first quarter earnings. A spokesman for ArcelorMittal,
which operates steel mills in the same regions as U.S. Steel, said
the company had not been asked to support the petition.
A spokeswoman for the ITC said the complaint was being processed
but it doesn't comment on the content of complaints.
The ITC held hearings in Washington earlier this month on damage
suffered by the American steel sector.
The ITC now has 30 days to evaluate the petition and decide
whether to initiate a case. After that, such a case can take up to
18 month to prosecute, according to trade experts.
Write to John W. Miller at john.miller@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 26, 2016 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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