US issues antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese collated steel staple imports

The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted 5-0 reaffirming the US industry has been 'injured by unfairly traded' collated steel staple imports from China.

In response to this, the Department of Commerce will issue antidumping and countervailing duty orders 'over 300%' on these items over the coming days.

Kyocera Senco Industrial Tools, the US' largest staple manufacturer, petitioned Commerce and the ITC to investigate certain collated staple imports from China in July 2019, with this recent voted finalising these cases.

"We welcome today's final vote and commend to ITC and Department of Commerce for their hard work on this case," said Cliff Mentrup, CEO of Senco. "Chinese producers have been defying the rules of international trade law - to the detriment of US producers - for far too long.

"Today's decision sends a strong message that foreign governments and producers engaging in these practices will be held accountable. This is good news for our industry, for our business, our workers, and their families."

Last month, Commerce determined that producers and/or exporters from China have sold collated steel staples at 'less than fair value' in the US at rates ranging from 96.15% to 122.55%. Commerce also determined that producers and/or exporters from China 'received countervailable subsidies' at rates ranging from 12.32% to 192.64%.

According to Commerce, US imports of certain collated staples were China were valued at an estimated $88.8 million in 2018.