*EPF210 09/18/01
Commerce Dept. Rules Israel, China Magnesium Dumped in U.S.
(No dumping found for Russia, Commerce Says) (310)
By Andrzej Zwaniecki
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington - U.S. imports of pure magnesium from Israel and China were dumped on the U.S. market, the U.S. Department of Commerce has ruled.

But the department determined that magnesium from Russia was not dumped, which means that it wasn't sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.

Commerce also found, in a separate countervailing duty investigation, that the government of Israel had provided "coutervailable subsidies" to a producer of pure magnesium.

In its final determination announced September 17, the department said the dumping margins ranged higher than 300 percent for the Chinese magnesium.

Imposition of antidumping duties requires final affirmative determinations both from the Department of Commerce that dumping occurred and from the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) that the imports injured or threatened U.S. industry.

The same kind of steps is followed in countervailing duty cases.

The final USITC determinations are expected in November.

Dumping is the import of goods at a price below the home-market or a third-country price or below the cost of production. A dumping margin is the ratio representing by how much the fair-value price exceeds the dumped price.

The Commerce Department calculated the dumping margins as follows:

-- China: Minmetals Precious and Rare Minerals Import and Export/China, National Nonferrous Metals Industry Trading Group Corp, 24.67 percent; all others, 305.56 percent.
-- Russia: all exporters, 0 percent.

In the countervailing duty case, the department calculated the Israeli government's net subsidy rate at 16.52 percent.

U.S. imports of pure magnesium in 1999 amounted to $35.5 million from China, $38.2 million from Israel, and $26.6 million from Russia.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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