Steel pipe exports to US to rise, say industry experts

Industry insiders said that the demand for steel pipes in the US is huge, with not many countries and territories, outside Taiwan, mainland China and Vietnam, manufacturing the product.

With an export turnover of more than US$2.7 billion of steel pipes, also known as oil industry tubular goods and often used when drilling for oil, China is o­ne of the US’s largest steel pipe suppliers.

However, the US Department of Commerce’s recent decision to impose anti-dumping duties ranging from 10.36 percent to 15.78 percent o­n Chinese steel pipes will make Chinese products less competitive.

The director of the Son Ha International Joint Stock Company, Le Vinh Son, said that his company would seize the chance to export roughly 2,000 tonnes of steel pipes monthly to the US over the next two years.

The Vietnam Steel Association’s vice chairman Nguyen Tien Nghi said that Hoa Phat, Viet Duc and SeAH Steel were among Vietnamese companies currently manufacturing steel pipes. Viet Duc and SeAH Steel began exporting steel pipes to the US late last year, with orders of several million dollars or so.

However, the authorities have warned domestic steel pipe producers that Vietnam was also amongst the six countries to face complaints from US steel pipe producers over alleged dumping.

US trade authorities have yet to investigate steel pipes imported from Vietnam, as the total imports of Vietnamese product make up o­nly 2.55 percent of the US steel market. According to US rules, if the percentage climbs to 3 percent, they will launch an anti-dumping probe.

But steel pipe manufacturers believe that Vietnam’s pipe exports to such a huge market as the US would be extremely unlikely to break the 3 percent threshold.