Senators Urge Strict Enforcement of China Oil Country Tubular Goods AD/CV Orders
Ten senators, led by Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), urged the Commerce Department to crack down on evasion and circumvention of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from China. In a letter dated Dec. 10, the senators said the AD/CV orders have been undermined by a variety of schemes designed to weaken them. “These efforts include outright evasion and circumvention of the orders as well as less obvious but equally harmful attempts to narrow their scope,” the letter said. “If successful, these ploys will enable Chinese companies to dump massive quantities of subsidized Chinese OCTG into the United States without paying the AD and CVD duties that they rightfully owe.”
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The consequences are significant,” the letter continued. “Chinese actions will result in further injury to the thousands of American workers and businesses as well as the weakening of U.S. trade law.” Oil country tubular goods are used for domestic oil exploration, particularly in the shale industry, and are produced in Ohio by U.S. Steel in Lorain, V&M Star in Youngstown, Wheatland Tube in Warren, and JMC Steel in Brookfield, said a press release on the letter.
The senators said it's essential that the U.S. effectively enforce these AD/CV duty orders against the full range of Chinese OCTG products. The senators said Commerce should stress “to those who would seek to narrow the scope of the orders that mere processing of OCTG from China in third countries through heat treatment or other finishing operations does not change its country-of-origin to exempt it from AD and CVD duties.” More generally, Commerce should work with CBP to identify and prevent evasion schemes, the letter said.
The letter was also signed by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), and Bob Casey, Jr. (D-Penn.).