US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced last week the affirmative final determination in this antidumping duty (AD) investigation, finding that steel concrete reinforcing bar from Taiwan is being sold in the US market at unfair prices.

The Commerce Department determined that exporters from Taiwan have sold steel concrete reinforcing bar in the United States at 3.50 percent to 32.01 percent at less than fair value based on factual evidence provided by the interested parties.

The Commerce Department will instruct US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits from importers of steel concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) from Taiwan based on these final rates.

In 2016, imports of steel concrete reinforcing bar from Taiwan were valued at an estimated $53 million.

The Rebar Trade Action Coalition filed the case with the Commerce Department on behalf of its individual members, Byer Steel Group, Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio; Commercial Metals Co., of Irving, Texas; Gerdau Armisteel US, Inc., of Tampa, Florida; Nucor Corp. of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Steel Dynamics, Inc., of Pittsboro, Indiana.

From January 20, 2017, through July 21, 2017, Commerce has initiated 54 antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – a 40 percent increase from the previous year. For the same time period in 2016, Commerce had initiated 40 antidumping and countervailing duty investigations.

Antidumping laws provide US businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of dumping unfairly priced products into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 404 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) is conducting an investigation to determine whether or not the domestic industry is harmed by imports of steel concrete reinforcing bar from Taiwan. The ITC is currently scheduled to make its final injury determination on or before September 5.

If the ITC makes an affirmative final injury determination, Commerce will issue an antidumping order. If the ITC makes a negative final injury determination, the investigation will be terminated and no order will be issued.

In fiscal year 2016, the United States collected $1.5 billion in duties on $14 billion of imported goods found to be underpriced or subsidized by foreign governments.