Axis of Evil

U.S. slaps heavy duties on Chinese steel shipped from Vietnam
Reuters

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday slapped steep import duties on steel products from Vietnam that originated in China after a final finding they evaded U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidy orders.
The decision marked a victory for U.S. steelmakers, who won anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties against Chinese steel in 2015 and 2016 only to see shipments flood in from elsewhere. 

The industry has argued that Chinese products are being diverted to other countries to circumvent the duties.
U.S. customs authorities will collect anti-dumping duties of 199.76 percent and countervailing duties of 256.44 percent on imports of cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin substrate, the Commerce Department said in a statement.
Corrosion-resistant steel from Vietnam faces anti-dumping duties of 199.43 percent and anti-subsidy duties of 39.05 percent, it said.
The department has said it would apply the same Chinese anti-dumping and anti-subsidy rates on corrosion-resistant and cold-rolled steel from Vietnam that starts out as Chinese-made hot-rolled steel.
The duties will come in addition to a 25 percent tariff on most steel imported into the United States that resulted from the Trump administration’s “Section 232” national security investigation into steel and aluminum imports.
Although the steel subject to the latest anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties was processed in Vietnam to be made corrosion resistant or cold-rolled for use in autos or appliances, the Commerce Department agreed with the claims of American producers that as much as 90 percent of the product’s value originated from China.
The global steel industry is struggling with a glut of excess production capacity, much of it located in China, that has pushed down prices.
The decision followed a European Union finding in November that steel shipments from Vietnam into the EU also circumvented tariffs.
The Commerce Department said that after anti-dumping duties were imposed on Chinese steel products in 2015, shipments of cold-rolled steel from Vietnam into the United States shot up to $215 million annually from $9 million, while corrosion-resistant steel imports rose to $80 million from $2 million.
The case stems from a petition filed by U.S. producers ArcelorMittal USA, Nucor Corp, AK Steel Holdings Corp and United States Steel Corp alleging that Chinese producers began diverting their steel shipments to Vietnam “immediately” after the duties were imposed. 

Why 12 Senators Want This Chinese Deal Rejected

The senators asked a review panel to “ultimately reject” the deal.

Reuters 

Twelve U.S. senators urged on Wednesday that a national security review panel reject Chinese aluminum giant Zhongwang International Group proposed $2.3 billion purchase of U.S. aluminum products maker Aleris.
The senators asked Treasury Secretary Jack Lew in a letter to launch a review of the deal by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States and “ultimately reject it” on grounds that it would damage the U.S. defense industrial base.
“Zhongwang’s purchase of Aleris would directly undermine our national security, including by jeopardizing the U.S. manufacturing base for sensitive technologies in an industry already devastated by the effects of China’s market distorting policies, and creating serious risk that sensitive technologies and knowhow will be transferred to China, further imperiling U.S. defense interests,” the senators wrote.
The deal, announced just over two months ago, would give one of the world’s largest makers of extruded aluminum products access to U.S. technology and customers, which include Boeing Co and U.S. and European automakers that are increasingly turning to aluminum.
It comes as another Zhongwang subsidiary is embroiled in a dispute over U.S. import duties amid broader trade tensions between the U.S. aluminum industry and China.
The U.S. Commerce Department is currently investigating China Zhongwang Holdings over allegations that it has been evading U.S. import duties on extruded products by shipping them through third countries.
The letter to Lew was signed by Republican Rob Portman of Ohio, where Aleris is based, and Democrats Ron Wyden, Charles Schumer, Bob Casey, Joe Manchin, Kirsten Gillibrand, Joe Donnelly, Debbie Stabenow, Jeff Merkley, Amy Klobuchar, Tammy Baldwin and Al Franken.
They said the review committee needed to be cautious about the potential for sensitive research data to be transferred to China, including data with military applications such as advanced modeling techniques, high-strength alloys and the design of light armor material.
“Despite the national security importance of our nation’s aluminum sector, the industry continues to be decimated by China’s market distorting policies that contribute to vast overcapacity,” the senators wrote.
“China’s overcapacity in aluminum has directly contributed to severe reductions in U.S. domestic production as smelters unable to compete have been forced to close. Each such closure further imperils our nation’s ability to ensure a reliable supply of strategic materials in times of crisis,” they wrote.
A Treasury spokeswoman declined to comment on the letter, adding that information filed with CFIUS by law cannot be disclosed to the public and that Treasury does not comment on specific CFIUS cases.

Steel War - The Union Strikes Back

EU imposes import duties of up to 73.7% on cheap Chinese steel
By Graham Ruddick

A worker examines rolls of steel at a plant in Taiyuan, China. 

The European Union has slapped tariffs of up to 73.7% on Chinese steel after manufacturers were forced to cut jobs due falling prices and demand for the material amid an influx of cheap imports from China.
Thousand of job have already been lost in the steel industry in Britain in the last year with thousands more at risk as the sector remains under pressure. 

Industry leaders have blamed the squeeze on the sector on China’s dumping of cheap steel in Europe as it struggles to find buyers for its products domestically.
The EU has agreed to impose import duties of between 13.2% and 22.6% on Chinese hot-rolled steel, which is used in pipelines and gas containers, and 65.1% and 73.7% on heavy plates, which are used in civil engineering projects.
The state of the steel industry became part of the debate about Britain’s future in the EU before the referendum in June, with Brexiters claiming that the country would be better able to protect workers and introduce tariffs on Chinese imports if it voted to leave.
UK Steel, the industry trade body, welcomed the speed at which the new EU tariffs had been introduced but warned that the levy on hot-rolled steel was not high enough, which could hurt Port Talbot, the biggest steelworks in Britain.
Dominic King, head of policy and external affairs at UK Steel, said: “The speed at which tariffs have been imposed on dumped steel from China by the EU is very welcome. However, while we hope the tariffs for heavy plate are robust enough to ensure free and fair trade, the proposed levels for hot-rolled steel are not high enough, which might encourage China to continue dumping it on to the EU market.”
David Martin, Labour MEP for Scotland, said the tariffs may be “too little too late” for the UK industry.
Martin, the international trade spokesman for the Socialist and Democrats group in the European parliament, said: “The [European] commission has recognised that Chinese dumping is having a real, damaging effect on EU steel producers and the communities supported by them.
“However, whilst the tariffs on heavy-plate steel are at a workable level, the duties on hot-rolled steel – a crucial product of Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant – won’t deter Chinese steelmakers from further dumping. I sincerely hope these duties will be revised upwards at a later date.
“What is pleasing is that this procedure was concluded five weeks ahead of schedule – finally the commission is waking up to the urgency of this situation. Whether it is too little, too late for UK steel, only time will tell.”

The Tata steelworks in Port Talbot. 

The future of Port Talbot and Tata Steel’s 11,000 UK staff remains unclear as the Indian company considers a merger with German group ThyssenKrupp and tries to negotiate a rescue package with the UK government.
Trade union leaders hit out at Tata Steel on Friday over its failure to sell off its speciality steels business in Yorkshire and County Durham. 

Tata Steel put the business up for sale in the summer as it desperately tried to stem the losses in its UK business.
The speciality steels arm employs more than 2,000 people in Sheffield, Rotherham and Hartlepool. Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of steelworkers union Community, said the business was of “huge importance” to the area.
He added: “When Tata announced that they wanted to sell the business, we called on them to act as a responsible seller. The continued lack of information about that process and the worry this has caused amongst their loyal workforce is highly irresponsible.
“Speciality steels has every chance of a bright, profitable future, but this will only be possible if Tata ensure a new owner is able to invest in the business and build a positive relationship with the workforce.
“The months of uncertainty and delays must end today. Tata must come clean about the state of the sales process and fully involve the trade unions in helping to build a new future for this vital industry and its highly skilled workers.”