The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted unanimously on May 22 that there is a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is threatened with material injury by reason of imports of oil country tubular goods from China that are allegedly subsidized and sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. As a result, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce will continue to conduct its countervailing duty and antidumping investigations on imports of these products from China, with its preliminary countervailing duty determination due on or about July 2, 2009, and its preliminary antidumping determinations due on or about Sept. 15, 2009.
A couple of weeks later, China's Ministry of Commerce announced that it was investigating U.S. steelmakers, along with some Russian producers, for selling certain steel products at below market value. China also is investigating whether U.S. steel producers are benefiting from unfair federal and state subsidies tied to U.S. economic stimulus funds. The announcement was widely seen as retaliation for the ITC’s investigation of OCTG products.
