U.S. Steel Corporation (USS)—along with other petitioning parties in the ongoing antidumping and countervailing duty investigations into seamless standard, line, and pressure pipe from China—has announced that it is making an allegation of “critical circumstances” in the proceeding.

According to a statement released today, “In a response to a surge of imports entering the market after the filing of these cases in September 2009, the petitioners are seeking to have remedial duties assessed on certain imports entering the United States after the filing of petitions, but prior to the time in which duties are normally assessed.”

In antidumping and countervailing duty cases, remedial duties are normally assessed as of the date of an affirmative preliminary determination of unfair trade at the Department of Commerce, the statement said. “Under U.S. and international law, however, duties can be assessed on imports that entered the U.S. market up to 90 days prior to such a determination where evidence exists that foreign producers surged into the market in an attempt to avoid duties.”

“In the present case, Chinese imports of seamless standard, line, and pressure pipe increased by more than 290 percent in the three months after the filing of petitions, as compared to the three months prior to the filing,” the statement said.

The Department of Commerce is scheduled to make its preliminary determination on Feb. 16.

Posted 1/7/2010