New Trade Case on Imports of Oil Country Tubular Goods From Argentina, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, and Russia

A new U.S. antidumping (“AD”) and countervailing (“CVD”) duty petition was filed on Oct. 6 by Borusan Mannesmann Pipe U.S., Inc. (“Borusan U.S.”), PTC Liberty Tubulars LLC (“PTC”), U. S. Steel Tubular Products, Inc. (“U. S. Steel”), the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC (the “USW”), and Welded Tube USA, Inc. (“Welded Tube”) against imports of oil country tubular goods (“OCTG”) from Argentina, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, and Russia.

The merchandise covered by this petition covers OCTG, which includes casing, tubing, and coupling stock of carbon and alloy steel used in oil and gas wells. OCTG can be produced either with regard to a specification or produced without regard to specification, but OCTG is usually produced in accordance with the American Petroleum Institute (“API”) specification 5CT. The API 5CT specification for OCTG indicates that the product should be “stenciled”, or marked by the manufacturer to indicate conformance with the specification to which it has been manufactured, and that the stenciling should identify the manufacturer’s name, specification, size, and weight designations, grade and class (e.g., H40, J55, K55, M65, and N80 through Pl10), process of manufacture (seamless pipe or electric resistance welded (“ERW”) pipe), heat treatment, and test pressure.

The petition includes AD (less than fair value) allegations against Argentina, Mexico, and Russia and CVD (unfair subsidy) allegations against Korea and Russia. The Department of Commerce (“DOC”) and the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) will conduct the investigations.  Within the next 45 days, the ITC will determine if there is a reasonable indication that the imports are injuring the U.S. industry. If the ITC finds that the standard is met, then the cases will move to the DOC which will calculate the preliminary AD and CVD duty margins.

The DOC’s preliminary determinations are currently scheduled for Dec. 30, 2021 (CVD) and March 15, 2022 (AD) which are the dates when importers will be required to deposit the calculated duties upon the products’ entry in the U.S. market.

There are strict statutory deadlines associated with these proceedings and affected companies are advised to prepare as soon as possible. If this product is of interest to you, please let us know so that we can provide you with additional information as it becomes available.

The following are key facts about this trade case:

Petitioners: Borusan U.S.,  PTC, U. S. Steel, the USW, and Welded Tube

Foreign Producers/Exporters and US Importers:  Please contact us for a listing of individual companies named in the petition.

AD/CVD margins:  Petitioners have alleged the following AD/CVD margins:

• Argentina: a calculated AD margin of 320.17%, ad valorem;
• Korea: a CVD margin above de minimis;
• Mexico: a calculated AD margin of 280.14%, ad valorem; and
• Russia: a calculated AD margin of 143.18%, ad valorem and a CVD margin above de minimis.

Merchandise covered by the scope of the case:

The merchandise covered by the investigation is certain OCTG, which are hollow steel products of circular cross-section, including oil well casing and tubing, of iron (other than cast iron) or steel (both carbon and alloy), whether seamless or welded, regardless of end finish (e.g., whether or not plain end, threaded, or threaded and coupled) whether or not conforming to API or non-API specifications, whether finished (including limited service OCTG products) or unfinished (including green tubes and limited-service OCTG products), whether or not thread protectors are attached. The scope of the investigation also covers OCTG coupling stock.

Subject merchandise includes material matching the above description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise processed in a third country, including by performing any heat treatment, cutting, upsetting, threading, coupling, or any other finishing, packaging, or processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigations if performed in the country of manufacture of the OCTG.

Excluded from the scope of the order are casing or tubing containing 10.5 percent or more by weight of chromium, drill pipe, unattached couplings, and unattached thread protectors.

The merchandise subject to the investigation is currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under subheadings: 7304.29.10.10, 7304.29.10.20, 7304.29.10.30, 7304.29.10.40, 7304.29.10.50, 7304.29.10.60, 7304.29.10.80, 7304.29.20.10, 7304.29.20.20, 7304.29.20.30, 7304.29.20.40, 7304.29.20.50, 7304.29.20.60, 7304.29.20.80, 7304.29.31.10, 7304.29.31.20, 7304.29.31.30, 7304.29.31.40, 7304.29.31.50, 7304.29.31.60, 7304.29.31.80, 7304.29.41.10, 7304.29.41.20, 7304.29.41.30, 7304.29.41.40, 7304.29.41.50, 7304.29.41.60, 7304.29.41.80, 7304.29.50.15, 7304.29.50.30, 7304.29.50.45, 7304.29.50.60, 7304.29.50.75, 7304.29.61.15, 7304.29.61.30, 7304.29.61.45, 7304.29.61.60, 7304.29.61.75, 7305.20.20.00, 7305.20.40.00, 7305.20.60.00, 7305.20.80.00, 7306.29.10.30, 7306.29.10.90, 7306.29.20.00, 7306.29.31.00, 7306.29.41.00, 7306.29.60.10, 7306.29.60.50, 7306.29.81.10, and 7306.29.81.50.

The merchandise subject to the investigation may also enter under the following HTSUS subheadings: 7304.39.00.24, 7304.39.00.28, 7304.39.00.32, 7304.39.00.36, 7304.39.00.40, 7304.39.00.44, 7304.39.00.48, 7304.39.00.52, 7304.39.00.56, 7304.39.00.62, 7304.39.00.68, 7304.39.00.72, 7304.39.00.76, 7304.39.00.80, 7304.59.60.00, 7304.59.80.15, 7304.59.80.20, 7304.59.80.25, 7304.59.80.30, 7304.59.80.35, 7304.59.80.40, 7304.59.80.45, 7304.59.80.50, 7304.59.80.55, 7304.59.80.60, 7304.59.80.65, 7304.59.80.70, 7304.59.80.80, 7305.31.40.00, 7305.31.60.90, 7306.30.50.55, 7306.30.50.90, 7306.50.50.50, and 7306.50.50.70.

The HTSUS subheadings above are provided for convenience and customs purposes only. The written description of the scope of the investigation is dispositive.

If you have any questions regarding the content of this alert, please contact Mark Ludwikowski (mludwikowski@clarkhill.com; 202-640-6680), Aristeo Lopez (alopez@clarkhill.com; 202-552-2366), Kevin Williams (kwilliams@clarkhill.com; 312-985-5907), William Sjoberg (wsjoberg@clarkhill.com; 202-772-0924), Courtney Gayle Taylor (cgtaylor@clarkhill.com; 202-552-2350), or another member of Clark Hill’s International Trade Business Unit.