USITC calls out fake Chinese steel fittings

The US International Trade Commission (USITC) has warned that the importation of counterfeit steel fittings from China “materially injures” the US steel industry.According to the USITC, counterfeit steel fittings that are imported from China and Italy are sold in the US at “less than fair value”.

The USITC was endorsing a view from the US Department of Commerce, which also said that the fake fittings were being subsidised by the Chinese government.

The steel fittings are carbon and alloy forged steel fittings that are sold in various shapes. These products are used in oil and gas piping systems, chemical and petrochemical plants, and electric-power generating plants.

The Department of Commerce announced affirmative final determinations in the antidumping duty investigations and countervailing duty investigations of forged steel fittings from China and Italy at the start of October.

The Department of Commerce said that these measures will “provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair pricing of imports into the US”.

According to the USITC, there are only four producers of this product in the US, and the leading importers are Taiwan, China, and Italy. The Department of Commerce claimed that imports of forged steel fittings from China and Italy in 2017 were valued at an estimated $104.8 million and $43.9 million, respectively.

The Department of Commerce noted that petitioners in favour of investigations include Bonney Forge Corporation and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union.

A report on this issue will be published by the USITC on 10 December 2018.