The U.S. Department of Commerce announced late Friday afternoon its affirmative preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty investigations of imports of finished carbon steel flanges from India, Italy and Spain.

As a result of the preliminary affirmative determinations, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits based on the preliminary rates it found in its investigations, which cover finished carbon steel flanges.

Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determinations on or about April 12, unless the statutory deadline is extended. If Commerce makes affirmative final determinations and the U.S. International Trade Commission makes affirmative final determinations that imports of finished carbon steel flanges from India, Italy and/or Spain materially injure or threaten material injury to the domestic industry, Commerce will issue antidumping orders. If either Commerce's or the ITC's final determinations are negative, no antidumping orders will be issued. The ITC is scheduled to make its final injury determination in May 2017.

This ongoing action is in response to Weldbend Corp., and Boltex Mfg. Co., two U.S.-based producers of carbon steel flanges, filing petitions last year within Commerce and the ITC charging that unfairly priced and subsidized imports of carbon steel flanges from India, Spain and Italy are causing material injury to the domestic industry.

The antidumping and countervailing petitions seek the enforcement and compliance of Indian, Spanish and Italian manufacturers with U.S. and international trade laws. Boltex and Weldbend charge that unfairly traded imports of carbon steel flanges from India, Spain and Italy are causing material injury to the American industry of carbon steel flanges, as these foreign producers are selling their products in the American market at prices less than their fair value and are thereby significantly undercutting American market prices.

The countervailing duty petition also alleges the Indian government has given significant subsidies to the Indian carbon steel flanges industry — to the severe detriment of American jobs and manufacturing.                                                                                                                     --Mike Miazga