‘Frontline ally’ USA slaps 50% ‘dumping’ duties on metal pipes

WASHINGTON DC: The US has announced hefty preliminary anti-dumping duties on metal pipes imported from India, China and four other countries, in an aggressive tactic by the Trump administration to protect the American industry and lower the trade deficit.

Six US pipe manufacturers had filed the antidumping complaint with the Commerce Department in January.

Announcing the preliminary determinations in antidumping duty investigations of imports of the pipes, the US Department of Commerce on Tuesday said the six countries were selling the large diameterwelded pipe -- used to transport oil, gas and other fluids -- far below the fair price, and that dumping harms the US industry.

India has been slapped with an anti-dumping duty of 50.55 per cent. US imports of the pipe from India last year totalled $294.7 million.

The other countries being hit with duties are China (132.63 per cent), Greece (22.51 per cent), Canada (24.38 per cent), South Korea (14.97 to 22.21 per cent) and Turkey (3.45 to 5.29 per cent).

Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells an imported product at an artificially low price.

The US Customs and Border Protection will collect cash deposits from India and the five other importers, according to a statement by the US Commerce Department.

"With respect to the India and Turkey investigations, Commerce will adjust the cash deposit rates by the amount of export subsidies found in the companion countervailing duty investigations," it said.

"The strict enforcement of US trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration," the statement said.

"Since the beginning of the current Administration, Commerce has initiated 120 new anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations this is a 216 per cent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration," it added.

The Commerce Department said it will make a final ruling in November on whether the pipe from India and China is dumped into the US market.

If the independent International Trade Commission finds that US industry was not harmed from the imports, the duties will be refunded.

For the Canada, Greece, Korea, and Turkey investigations, the final ruling will be made by January 2019.