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U.S. Imposes 50% Preliminary Anti-Dumping Duty On Indian Metal Pipes

U.S. imposes tariffs on metal pipes imported from India, China and four other nations.

A worker cuts a metal pipe in Mumbai’s Lower Parel area. (Photograph: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)
A worker cuts a metal pipe in Mumbai’s Lower Parel area. (Photograph: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

The U.S. has announced hefty preliminary anti-dumping duties on metal pipes imported from India, China and four other countries in an aggressive tactic by the Trump administration to protect the American industry and lower the trade deficit.

Six U.S. pipe manufacturers had filed the anti-dumping complaint with the Commerce Department in January. Announcing the preliminary determinations, the U.S. Department of Commerce yesterday said the six countries were selling the large diameter-welded pipe used to transport oil, gas and other fluids, far below the fair price, and that dumping harms the U.S. industry.

India has been slapped with an anti-dumping duty of 50.6 percent. U.S. imports of the pipe from India last year totalled $294.7 million. Notably, this comes right after the U.S. government imposed up to 541.15 percent duties on large- diameter Welded Pipes From India in June this year.

The department will make a final ruling in November on whether the pipe from India and China is dumped into the U.S. market. Also If the independent International Trade Commission finds that U.S. industry was not harmed from the imports, the duties will be refunded.

This duty is over and above the countervailing duty imposed In June on large diameter welded pipes, said Saurabh Kapadia, senior research analyst at India Nivesh.

Companies such as Jindal Saw, Man Industries, Bhushan Steel and Welspun Corp are into exports of large welded pipes. However, we do not see any additional negative impact of this development on the financials of the company.
Saurabh Kapadia, Senior Research Analyst, IndiaNivesh

While Jindal Saw doesn’t export to the U.S. market, this development could be positive for Welspun Corp. given that the company has two plants in the U.S., with a combined capacity of 550,000 tonnes a year, he added.

The decline in exports of L-saw pipes could lead to impact on the financials over the near term but this would be compensated by the increase in H- saw pipes produced in the U.S. mainly used in the purpose of transportation would be a positive for the company, Kapadia said.

With PTI inputs.