India Stainless Steel Bar: Commerce Reinstates Viraj and Venus Back Under Antidumping Duty Order

On October 18, 2017, the U.S. Department of Commerce published its preliminary determination that two Indian bar producers, Viraj Profiles Ltd. (“Viraj”) and the Venus Group (Venus Wire Industries Pvt. Ltd. and its affiliates Hindustan Inox Ltd., Precision Metals and Sieve Manufacturers (India) Pvt. Ltd.), have resumed dumping stainless steel bar into the U.S. market and that both companies should be reinstated back under the existing antidumping duty order on stainless steel bar from India.

In its preliminary determination, the Commerce Department found both Viraj and Venus to be uncooperative respondents and assigned the companies a preliminary dumping margin of 30.92 percent. This is the same rate that is currently in effect for Indian producers Mukand and Chandan. As a result of its preliminary finding, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation of all entries of stainless steel bar produced and/or exported by either Viraj or the Venus Group and require a cash deposit of 30.92 percent from U.S. importers of such goods effective October 18, 2017.

The changed circumstances review request was filed on September 29, 2016 on behalf of seven U.S. stainless steel bar producers. The antidumping duty order has been in effect since February 21, 1995. Viraj was conditionally revoked from the order in 2004 and the Venus Group was conditionally revoked from the order in 2011 because they were found in three consecutive reviews to have engaged in no dumping (i.e., they received three consecutive zero or de minimis dumping margins). 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. This case is just one of a handful of reinstatement proceedings conducted by the Commerce Department to date and serves as a reminder that unfair trading practices by companies conditionally revoked from an existing order may be properly addressed through a changed circumstances review.

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.