AWPA Wireline - October 2003

October is the anniversary month of the antidumping order against carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova, Trinidad & Tobago, and Ukraine. This means that the petitioners, foreign mills, or US rod importers may request an administrative review of some or all of these orders.

It normally takes the US Commerce Department one year to complete an administrative review. Since the US antidumping law imposes duties on a retroactive basis, importers are potentially at risk for entries that were made from April 15, 2002 in the case of Brazil, or from April 10, 2002 in the case of the other countries (the date of the preliminary dumping determinations) through September 30, 2003. If there is an administrative review and the Department calculates a margin which is higher than the current dumping duty deposit rate, then the importer must pay the difference plus interest. If, on the other hand, the Department calculates a lower margin, the importer will receive a refund of the difference plus interest.

Stainless steel wire rod imports from Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan -- which were the subjects of antidumping and countervailing duty (for Italy) trade cases -- are now undergoing their five-year review period. The ITC will be reviewing whether revocation of these duty orders would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury.

Already the Commerce Department has announced preliminary results of its administrative review of the antidumping order against stainless steel wire rod from Korea. The review covers three Korean producers/exports -- Changwon Specialty Steel Co., Ltd.; Dongbang Special Steel Co., Ltd.; and Pohang Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. - during the period from September 1, 2001 through August 31, 2002.

The Department has preliminarily determined that all three companies should be treated as a single entity for purposes of this review and that their weighted-average dumping margin is 1.77%. The current dumping duty deposit rate for all three companies is 5.61%.

The Department plans to complete this administrative review by mid-February 2004. Until that time, the current dumping duty deposit rate will remain in effect. Any change in the deposit rates as a result of this review will become effective only when the Department's final results are published in the Federal Register.

Chile/Singapore FTA - Impact on Wire Industry

The Chile and Singapore FTAs will go into effect on January 1, 2004. With respect to the wire and wire products industry, the most significant part of each agreement is the duty rates and duty reduction schedule for steel wire and wire products.

Chile will eliminate duties on all carbon, alloy and stainless steel wire and wire products from the US, effective on the date the agreement enters into force. Chile will also eliminate all duties on carbon, alloy and stainless wire rod and bar from the US, effective January 1, 2004. The current duty rate on these products is 6%.

The US will eliminate duties on all carbon, alloy and stainless steel wire and wire products from Chile, effective January 1, 2004. There are already some wire products which are duty free (i.e., barbed wire), and they will continue to be duty free. The US will also eliminate all duties on carbon, alloy and stainless steel wire rod and bar from Chile, effective January 1, 2004.

Singapore already extends duty free treatment to all carbon, alloy and stainless steel wire and wire products, and such duty free treatment will continue. Singapore also extends duty free treatment to carbon, alloy and stainless steel wire rod and bar.

The US will eliminate duties on all carbon, alloy and stainless steel wire and wire products from Singapore, effective January 1, 2004. There are already some wire products which are duty free (i.e., barbed wire), and they will continue to be duty free. The US will also eliminate all duties on carbon, alloy and stainless steel wire rod and bar from Singapore effective January 1, 2004.