US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has announced the affirmative preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) investigations of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Belarus, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Department of Commerce determined that exporters from Belarus have sold carbon and alloy steel wire rod in the United States at 280.02 percent less than fair value. The department determined that exporters from Russia have sold carbon and alloy steel wire rod in the United States at 436.80 percent to 756.93 percent less than fair value based on factual evidence provided by the interested parties. The department determined that exporters from the UAE have sold carbon and alloy steel wire rod in the United States at 84.10 percent less than fair value based on factual evidence provided by the interested parties.

“The dumping of goods below market value in the United States is something the Trump Administration takes very seriously,” said Ross.

Foreign companies that price their products in the US market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to AD.

The Department of Commerce based these rates on adverse facts available due to the failure by the Belarusian, Russian, and UAE companies to respond to requests for information. Since the companies under investigation did not provide the information necessary to determine the level of dumping, the Commerce Department relied on the information provided in the US industry’s petitions, in accordance with its longstanding practice.

The petitions were filed on behalf of Gerdau Ameristeel US, Inc. (Tampa, Fla.), Nucor Corporation (Charlotte, N.C.), Keystone Consolidated Industries (Dallas, Texas), and Charter Steel (Saukville, Wisc.).

Commerce will instruct US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits from importers of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Belarus, Russia, and the UAE based on these preliminary rates.

In 2016, imports of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Belarus, Russia, and the UAE were valued at an estimated $10.4 million, $32.3 million, and $7 million, respectively.

The Department of Commerce is currently scheduled to announce its final AD determinations on November 21.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) is conducting parallel investigations to determine if the American producers have been harmed by the carbon and alloy steel wire rod imports from Belarus, Russia, and/or the UAE. If the Commerce Department’s final determinations are affirmative, and the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, the Commerce Department will issue antidumping orders. If the ITC does not find that US producers have been harmed, then the investigations will end, and no duties will be collected.