U.S. Rejects Tariffs in Steel ‘Dumping’ Claim

The U.S. International Trade Commission rejected a complaint by domestic steelmakers that imports from Japan and five other countries are harming the U.S. industry, handing a rare victory to foreign steel producers. The ITC voted 5-1 not to impose duties on imports of cold-rolled steel, used in such products as cars and home appliances. That allowed Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. and Brazil’s Companhia Siderurgica Nacional to escape 50% tariffs, among other targeted companies from their countries, Thailand, Argentina, South Africa and Russia. “They didn’t have a case,” William Barringer, a lawyer for Japanese producers, said of the complaint by Bethlehem Steel Corp., USX-U.S. Steel Group and six other companies. U.S. steelmakers, noting that shipments from overseas soared more than 30% in 1998, charged that foreign producers drove down the price of cold-rolled steel by dumping it on the American market.