WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today praised a decision to maintain existing antidumping orders against unfairly subsidized imports of steel concrete rebar that harm American manufacturers.

Wicker and Cochran in April signed a letter encouraging the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to extend the antidumping duties now imposed on rebar produced in China, Indonesia, Ukraine, Latvia, Belarus, Moldova and Poland.

The USITC on Thursday completed its review of the anti-duty case and determined “the existing orders on the rebar under review will remain in place.”  The announcement followed a mandatory review to determine whether revoking antidumping or countervailing duties would likely lead to material injury to domestic producers.

“Yesterday’s decision is good news for American steel manufacturing,” Wicker said. “The federal government needs to continue to support trade policies that keep jobs in this country and ensure our companies remain competitive globally.”

“The decision to keep the antidumping duties on imported rebar in place is great news for the steel industry in the United States,” Cochran said.  “I am hopeful that the overall health of this industry, and the jobs it supports, will benefit from a level playing field with international competition.”

Cochran and Wicker were among a dozen Senators who argued that extending the duties would be critical to protecting American-made rebar imports that are illegally undercutting the U.S. market.  The letter they signed in April pointed out that a November 2012 review by the U.S. Department of Commerce found that if the antidumping orders were not maintained, producers in these seven countries would resume dumping rebar into the United States at margins ranging from 16.99 percent to 232.86 percent.

“It is essential that we do all we can to prevent unfairly priced imports from destroying good-paying American jobs.  Accordingly, we strongly urge you to maintain the existing orders against unfairly traded imports of rebar.  The U.S. steel industry depends on the full and fair enforcement of the trade laws of the United States,” the group of Senators wrote in an April 25 letter to the USITC.

The letter was initiated by Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).  In addition to the Mississippi Senators, it was signed by Senators:  Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

Links:

USITC Decision Announcement:  http://1.usa.gov/16nxFG
Senate Letter to USITC:  http://1.usa.gov/11B8wmy