US Confirms 250% Tariffs on Chinese CTL Steel Plate

by Jeff Yoders on JANUARY 18, 2017

The Commerce Department made final determinations today in its anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length (CTL) plate from China.

The department said in a statement that it has set a final dumping margin of 68.27% for Jiangyin Xingcheng Special Steel Works Co. Ltd., the only respondent in the case, “for the China-wide entity’s failure to cooperate.”

In the countervailing duties investigation, Commerce calculated a final subsidy rate of 251% for mandatory respondents Jiangyin Xingcheng Special Steel Works Co. Ltd., Hunan Valin Xiangtan Iron & Steel, and Viewer Development Co., Ltd., based on the application of adverse facts available. All other producers/exporters in China were also assigned a final subsidy rate of 251%.

Chinese Province Admits Making Up GDP Figures

China’s northeastern Liaoning province, which relies on steel production as its growth engine, had inflated its GDP figures from 2011 to 2014, said province governor Chen Qiufa on Jan. 17 in his annual work report, according to the state newspaper People’s Daily (link in Chinese). It is the first time the Chinese government has publicly admitted to faking official statistics at any level.

Fiscal revenues were inflated by at least 20% during the period, and some other economic data were also made up, the People’s Daily said.