U.S. Stainless Steel Bar Producers Applaud Affirmative Final Determination to Reinstate Two Leading Indian Bar Producers Back Under Existing Antidumping Duty Order

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Commerce ("Commerce") announced on Tuesday, April 17, 2018, its final determination that two Indian producers, Viraj Profiles Ltd. ("Viraj") and Venus Wire Industries Pvt. Ltd., including its affiliates Hindustan Inox Ltd., Precision Metals and Sieves Manufacturers (India) Pvt. Ltd. (collectively, the "Venus Group") have resumed dumping stainless steel bar into the U.S. market and that both companies will be reinstated back under the existing antidumping duty order on stainless steel bar from India, which has been in effect since February 21, 1995. 

Commerce affirmed its preliminary finding issued in October 2017 and assigned both Viraj and the Venus Group a final dumping margin of 30.92 percent, as total adverse facts available.  This is the same rate that is currently applicable to Indian stainless bar producers Mukand and Chandan.  As a result, cash deposits of 30.92 percent from U.S. importers of stainless steel bar produced and/or exported by either Viraj or the Venus Group will continue to be required for each entry.  This is only the second time in the last nine years that the Department of Commerce has reinstated companies back under an antidumping duty order from which those companies had previously been revoked.

"The domestic producers are pleased that the Commerce Department has agreed with what the domestic producers have long believed: that both Venus and Viraj have been taking advantage of their conditional revocation from the order by continuing to dump their products in the U.S. market, to the detriment of U.S. producers," stated Larry Lasoff, counsel for the domestic producers. "The Commerce Department's final determination will help to ensure that the unfair trading practices by Viraj and the Venus Group are properly addressed and to restore the effectiveness of the antidumping duty order."  Viraj is also currently subject to an exclusion order in connection with a section 337 action in which Viraj was found to have misappropriated trade secrets. 

The changed circumstances review was filed on September 29, 2016 on behalf of seven U.S. stainless steel bar producers.  The U.S. producers alleged that following Viraj Profile's revocation from the order in 2004 and the Venus Group's revocation from the order in 2011, those companies have resumed dumping their stainless steel bar into the United States. Under U.S. law, any company that has an order conditionally revoked may be reinstated under an existing order if the Commerce Department finds that the company has resumed dumping following revocation.

Petitioning companies:  The petitioning companies are Carpenter Technology Corporation; Crucible Industries LLC; Electralloy, a Division of G.O. Carlson, Inc.; North American Stainless; Outokumpu Stainless Bar, Inc; Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc.; and Valbruna Slater Stainless, Inc. and are represented by David A. Hartquist, Laurence J. Lasoff, and Grace Kim of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP. The legal team was supported by economic consultants, Georgetown Economic Services.

SOURCE Kelley Drye & Warren LLP