By Michael Roknick
SHENANGO VALLEY — Wheatland Tube Co., six other tube producers and United Steelworkers won the first round in their unfair trade complaint against Chinese imports for oil tubular products.
The U.S. International Trade Commission voted 6-0 in favor of proceeding with the trade case against China. Oil country tubular goods are welded and stainless steel pipes used to extract oil or gas from drilled wells.
Locally, such pipes are produced at Wheatland Tube’s Warren, Ohio, plant and are finished at the company’s Sharon mill where only a handful of employees are working due to Chinese imports that the company said were dumped on the market at a price below what they cost to produce.
The ITC’s vote allows the U.S. Commerce Department to conduct an investigation that could lead to duties up to $2.6 billion on Chinese oil country tubular products.
American producers are alleging Chinese companies are benefiting from massive government subsidies which are prohibited under international trade laws. Further, it alleges Chinese products are being dumped on American shores on margins ranging from 40 to 90 percent below their cost.
Dumped and subsidized oil country imports from China have tripled from 750,000 tons in 2006 to 2.2 million tons in 2008 and have continued increasing in the first quarter of this year, according to the trade complaint.
Because of that surge of Chinese goods in the second half of 2008, the complaint seeks to have the case place under “critical circumstances.” If the U.S. Commerce Department approves the request, duties can be imposed 90 days before its preliminary findings are made.
As a result of the huge surge in Chinese goods in the second half of 2008, the trade petition said it falls under “critical circumstances.” If the Commerce Department approves the allegations, duties can be imposed 90 days before its preliminary findings are made.
A preliminary anti-subsidy finding by the Commerce Department is expected by Sept. 8, and a preliminary dumping finding by Nov. 6.
“The (oil country tube) producers and jobless pipe workers are paying the price of China’s massive government subsidies and unfair dumping of imports in our market,” USW President Leo W. Gerard said. “More than a third of this industry’s 6,000 workers are now laid off, threatening the future of a critical product used in our energy extraction industry.”
In addition to Wheatland Tube, the six other American petitioners in the case are: U.S. Steel Corp., Pittsburgh; Maverick Tube Corp., Hickman, Ark.; Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel, Pueblo, Colo.; TMK IPSCO, Downers Grove, Ill.; and V&M; Star LLP and V&M; TCA, both Houston.
Last year the ITC ruled Chinese producers were illegally dumping and getting unfair government subsidies on standard pipe because of a petition filed by Wheatland Tube and other American producers. The ITC imposed hefty tariffs on Chinese imports ranging as high as 264 percent.
