Commerce Initiates Antidumping Duty Investigations of Imports of Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India, Italy, and Spain, and Countervailing Duty Investigation of Imports of Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India FACT SHEET Comme rce Initiates Antidumping Duty Investigations of Imports of Finishe d Carbon Ste el Flange s from India, Italy, and Spain, and Counte rvailing Duty Inve stigation of Imports of Finishe d Carbon Ste el Flange s from India

• On July 21, 2016, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) announced the initiation of antidumping duty (AD) investigations of imports of finished carbon steel flanges from India, Italy, and Spain, and a countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of imports of finished carbon steel flanges from India.

• The AD and CVD laws provide U.S. businesses and workers with a transparent, quasi-judic ia l, and internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the market-distorting effects caused by injurious dumping and unfair subsidization of imports into the United States, establishing an opportunity to compete on a level playing field.

• For the purpose of AD investigations, dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than its fair value. For the purpose of CVD investigations, a countervailable subsidy is financial assistance from a foreign government that benefits the production of goods from foreign companies and is limited to specific enterprises or industries, or is contingent either upon export performance or upon the use of domestic goods over imported goods.

• The petitioners are Boltex Manufacturing Co., L.P. (TX) and Weldbend Corporation (IL).

• The scope of these investigations covers finished carbon steel flanges. Finished carbon steel flanges differ from unfinished carbon steel flanges (also known as carbon steel flange forgings) in that they have undergone further processing after forging, including, but not limited to, beveling, bore threading, center or step boring, face machining, taper boring, machining ends or surfaces, drilling bolt holes, and/or de-burring or shot blasting. Any one of these post-forging processes suffices to render the forging into a finished carbon steel flange for purposes of these investigations. However, mere heat treatment of a carbon steel flange forging (without any other further processing after forging) does not render the forging into a finished carbon steel flange for purposes of these investigations.

  While these finished carbon steel flanges are generally manufactured to specification ASME 816.5 or ASME 816.47 series A or series 8, the scope is not limited to flanges produced under those specifications. All types of finished carbon steel flanges are included in the scope regardless of pipe size (which may or may not be expressed in inches of nominal pipe size), pressure class (usually, but not necessarily, expressed in pounds of pressure, e.g., 150, 300, 400, 600, 900, 1500, 2500, etc.), type of face (e.g., flat face, full face, raised face, etc.), configuration (e.g., weld neck, slip on, socket weld, lap joint, threaded, etc.), wall thickness (usually, but not necessarily, expressed in inches), normalization, or whether or not heat treated. These carbon steel flanges either meet or exceed the requirements of the ASTM A105, ASTM A694, ASTM A181, ASTM A350 and ASTM A707 standards (or comparable foreign specifications). The scope includes any flanges produced to the above-referenced ASTM standards as currently stated or as may be amended. The term "carbon steel" under this scope is steel in which:

• iron predominates, by weight, over each of the other contained elements:

• the carbon content is 2 percent or less, by weight; and

• none of the elements listed below exceeds the quantity, by weight, as indicated:

• 0.87 percent of aluminum;

• 0.0105 percent of boron;

• 10.10 percent of chromium;

• 1.55 percent of columbium;

• 3.10 percent of copper;

• 0.38 percent of lead;

• 3.04 percent of manganese;

• 2.05 percent of molybdenum;

• 20.15 percent of nickel;

• 1.55 percent of niobium;

• 0.20 percent of nitrogen;

• 0.21 percent of phosphorus;

• 3.10 percent of silicon;

• 0.21 percent of sulfur;

• 1.05 percent of titanium;

• 4.06 percent of tungsten;

• 0.53 percent of vanadium; or

• 0.015 percent of zirconium.

Finished carbon steel flanges are currently classified under subheadings 7307.91.5010 and 7307.91.5050 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). They may also be entered under HTSUS subheadings 7307.91.5030 and 7307.91.5070. The HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes; the written description of the scope is dispositive.

• In 2015, imports of finished carbon steel flanges from India, Italy, and Spain were valued at an estimated $90.6 million, $31 million, and $26.8 million, respectively.

  NEXT STEPS

• The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is scheduled to make its preliminary injury determinations on or before August 15, 2016.

• If the ITC determines that there is a reasonable indication that imports of finished carbon steel flanges from India, Italy, and/or Spain materially injure, or threaten material injury to, the domestic industry, the investigations will continue and Commerce will be scheduled to make its preliminary CVD determination in September 2016 and its preliminary AD determinations in December 2016, unless the statutory deadlines are extended. If the ITC's preliminary determinations are negative, the investigations will be terminated.

* de minimis = less than 1% for developed countries, less than 2% for developingcountries.

NOTE: Commerce preliminary and final determinationdeadlines are governed bystatute. For CVD investigations, the deadlines are set forth in sections 703(b) and 705(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For AD investigations, the deadlines are setforth in sections 733(b) and 735(a) of the Act. Thesedeadlines may be extended under certain

circumstances.

†Where the deadline falls on a weekend/holiday, the appropriate date is thenext businessday.

* If the ITC makes negative preliminary determinations of injury, the investigations are terminated.

**This will take place only in the event of finalaffirmative determinations fromCommerce.

***This will take place only in the event of finalaffirmative determinations fromCommerce and the ITC.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, accessedthrough Global Trade Atlas. (HTSUS 7307.91.5010 and 7307.91.5050).

Imports of finished carbonsteelflanges may also enter under HTSUS 7307.91.5030 and 7307.91.5070. These HTSUS

subheadings may cover a significant amount of non-subject merchandise andtherefore have been excluded for purposes of reporting import statistics.