*EPF516 10/12/01
ITC to Continue Steel Wire Rod Subsidy, Dumping Investigation
(Cases dropped for Egypt, South Africa, Venezuela) (320)
By Andrzej Zwaniecki
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has voted to continue dumping and subsidy investigations on U.S. imports of steel wire rod from markets in the Western Hemisphere, Europe and Asia.

The commissioners voted October 12 that evidence of injury to U.S. industry from the imports sufficed at least to keep the investigations going.

As a result of USITC's affirmative preliminary determination, the Commerce Department will continue its countervailing duty investigations of the imports from Brazil, Canada, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago and Turkey, and its antidumping investigation of the imports from Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova, Trinidad and Tobago, and Ukraine.

The preliminary Commerce determinations are expected in November in the countervailing duty cases and in February in the antidumping cases.

However, the commissioners voted to end investigations of Egypt, South Africa and Venezuela, finding the level of imports from these markets negligible.

Imports are generally considered "negligible" when they amount to less than 3 percent of all such products imported into the United States within the 12-month period directly preceding the filing of the petition.

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

Imposition of countervailing duties similarly requires affirmative final determinations of subsidies and injury.

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 subsidy is a grant conferred on a producer by a government.

In 2000 U.S. imports of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from the countries covered by the USITC investigation amounted to $722 million.

(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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