New Trade Case on Imports of Tin Mill Products from Canada, China, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom

New U.S. antidumping (“AD”) duty petitions were filed on Jan. 18 against imports of tin mill products from Canada, China, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The petitions also seek the imposition of a countervailing duty (“CVD”) on imports from China.

The merchandise covered by these petitions consists of tin mill products. Tin mill products are flat-rolled products that are coated or plated with tin, chromium, or chromium oxides. Please see the scope section below for a full description of the proposed subject merchandise.

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 or threatening to injure the U.S. industry. If the ITC finds that this standard is met, the cases will move to the DOC, which will calculate the preliminary AD and CVD duty margins.

The DOC’s preliminary determinations are currently expected by March 24, 2023 (CVD) and June 7, 2023 (AD). On the date of publication of DOC’s preliminary determinations, importers will be required to deposit the calculated duties upon the products’ entry into 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. Here is a schedule of approximate key dates.

The following are key facts about this trade case:

History and Other Cases: A prior AD and CVD petition on tin mill from Japan was filed in 1999. The AD and CVD orders on imports from Japan still remain in place.

Section 301: A 7.5 percent tariff is in place on imports from China. There are no Section 301 tariffs on imports from other subject countries.

Section 232: A 25 percent Section 232 tariff is in place against Turkey and China. A tariff-rate quota (“TRQ”) is in place for imports from European Union member countries and the United Kingdom.

Petitioners: Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (“United Steelworkers” or “USW”)

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

AD/CVD margins:  Petitioner alleged the following AD/CVD margins:

• Canada: calculated dumping margins around 78.29 percent, ad valorem;
• China: calculated dumping margins around 130.88 percent, ad valorem;
• China: countervailing duty margins above de minimis;
• Germany: calculated dumping margins around 43.64 percent, ad valorem;
• South Korea: calculated dumping margins between 13.46 percent and 110.84 percent, ad valorem;
• The Netherlands: calculated dumping margins between 124.17 percent and 294.27 percent, ad valorem;
• Taiwan: calculated dumping margins between 47.22 percent and 60.12 percent, ad valorem;
• Turkey: calculated dumping margins between 96.51 percent and 106.43 percent, ad valorem; and
• United Kingdom: calculated dumping margins around 110.81 percent, ad valorem

Merchandise covered by the scope of the case:

The products within the scope of these investigations are tin mill flat-rolled products that are coated or plated with tin, chromium, or chromium oxides. Flat-rolled steel products coated with tin are known as tinplate. Flat-rolled steel products coated with chromium or chromium oxides are known as tin-free steel or electrolytic chromium-coated steel. The scope includes all the noted tin mill products regardless of thickness, width, form (in coils or cut sheets), coating type (electrolytic or otherwise), edge (trimmed, untrimmed or further processed, such as scroll cut), coating thickness, surface finish, temper, coating metal (tin, chromium, chromium oxide), reduction (single- or double-reduced), and whether or not coated with a plastic material.

All products that meet the written physical description are within the scope of the investigations unless specifically excluded. Please refer to this Appendix for the full list of products that are excluded from the scope of the investigation.

The merchandise subject to these investigations is currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), under HTSUS subheadings 7210.11.0000, 7210.12.0000, 7210.50.0000, 7212.50.0020, 7212.50.0090, 7212.10.0000, and 7212.50.0000 if of non-alloy steel and under HTSUS subheadings 7225.99.0090, and 7226.99.0180 if of alloy steel. Although the subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of the investigations is dispositive.

If you have any questions regarding the content of this alert, please contact Mark Ludwikowski (mludwikowski@clarkhill.com; 202-640-6680), Kevin Williams (kwilliams@clarkhill.com; 312-985-5907), Will Sjoberg (wsjoberg@clarkhill.com; 202-772-0924), Aristeo Lopez (alopez@clarkhill.com; 202-552-2366), Kelsey Christensen (kchristensen@clarkhill.com; 202-640-6670), Sally Alghazali (salghazali@clarkhill.com; 202-572-8676), or another member of Clark Hill’s International Trade Business Unit.