In July 2014, nine US businesses lodged an anti-dumping complaint against OCTG imports from Vietnam, India, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and Ukraine. In its final determination, the USITC upheld an earlier ruling by the US Department of Commerce (USDOC).
The USDOC concluded that OCTG imports from these countries caused a negative impact or posed a threat to the US steel industry.
Under the USDOC’s decision, duties of 24.22% were levied on Vietnam’s SeAH Steel Vina Corporation while Hot Rolling Pipe Co., Ltd. Vietnam, which has failed to answer the DOC’s questionnaire, received the highest penalty of 111.47%.
Imports of OCTG from the Philippines and Thailand remain unaffected by the decision, as they were not a party to the lawsuit.
Recent statistics showed that Vietnam ranks third among steel pipe exporters to the US with turnover reaching over US$110 million in 2013, just after the Republic of Korea and India.