U.S. slaps duties on Canadian structural steel

MARKHAM, ON, Jan. 27, 2020 /CNW/ - The Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC), its members, and the Canadian steel industry are very disappointed and disagree with the announcement of January 24^th by the U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) final decision, to place anti-dumping duties on Canadian fabricated structural steel. The Canadian steel industry firmly believes that the announced duty calculations against Canada are unlawful and will actively and aggressively pursue all avenues to correct this finding.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will be hearing the structural steel trade case levied against Canada, Mexico and China on January 28, 2020, where they will assess past and future injury against the domestic industry.  Depending on the ITC decision, Canada could face duties of 6.7 percent on structural steel exports to the U.S.

"We will ask the Canadian Government to defend our industry from unlawful trade action," says Ed Whalen, President & CEO of the CISC. "This is clearly a move to prevent Canada from participating in the American market rather than illegal trade.  We will pursue all avenues and provisions under NAFTA and WTO to ensure fairness in trade is preserved."

BACKGROUND
On February 4, 2019, the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) initiated an anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing (CVD) trade case on imports of fabricated structural steel (FSS) from China, Mexico and Canada into the United States.  The U.S. Department of Commerce & the U.S. International Trade Commission then proceeded with their investigation to see whether the U.S. industry was being materially injured or threatened with material injury, from these three countries.

On September 4, 2019, the DOC announced that there was little to no evidence of dumping into the U.S., indicating that our Canadian steel exporters operate at fair market price all the while trading fairly in the U.S. Market.  Canada was then assessed at 0.69 percent and which was found to be de minimis during the preliminary AD investigation.  As a result, Canada was given a provisional rate of a zero percent duty.

ABOUT CISC
The Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) is Canada's voice for the steel construction industry, providing leadership in sustainable design, advocacy, construction, efficiency, quality and innovation. The CISC's efforts aim to advance the use and benefits of steel, increase Canadian market share, as well as advocate for a diverse community made up of manufacturers, fabricators, service centres, erectors, consultants, detailers, industry suppliers, owners and developers.

The Canadian steel construction sector is a vibrant $5 billion industry, which employs over 130,000 people in its supply chain.

SOURCE Canadian Institute of Steel Construction