by Jeff Yoders on DECEMBER 22, 2015

The Commerce Department found, preliminarily, yesterday that imports of heavy-walled rectangular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Turkey were illegally subsidized by its government.

Commerce calculated a preliminary subsidy rate of 7.69% and 1.35% percent for mandatory respondents MMZ Onur Boru Profil uretim San Ve Tic. A.S. and Ozdemir Boru Profil San ve Tic. Ltd Sti., respectively. All other producers/exporters in Turkey were assigned a preliminary subsidy rate of 4.39%.

As a result of the preliminary affirmative determination, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to require cash deposits based on these preliminary rates. While domestic producers will surely welcome any and all import duties, the amount of the deposits, some as low as 1.35%, may not be significant enough to deter the imports.

The petitioners for the investigation are Atlas Tube, a division of JMC Steel Group; Bull Moose Tube Company; EXLTUBE; Hannibal Industries, Inc.; Independence Tube Corporation; Maruichi American Corporation; Searing Industries; Southland Tube; and Vest, Inc.

The products subject to the investigation are heavy-walled rectangular welded steel pipes and tubes of rectangular (including square) cross section, having a nominal wall thickness of not less than 4 mm.

The final determination of this countervailing duties investigation has been aligned with the final determination of the companion anti-dumping duty investigation of heavy walled rectangular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Turkey. Therefore, Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determination in this investigation on or about May 2, 2016, unless the statutory deadline is extended.

As the year ends we are seeing movement on several different investigations countervailing duties and anti-dumping investigations at the Commerce Department with generally favorable results for the petitioners and other domestic producers.

Source: Metalminer