In September, the US domestic rebar industry filed antidumping cases against Turkey and NAFTA partner, Mexico. A countervailing duty case was also filed against Turkey.
The ITC preliminary injury hearing is scheduled for later in September, with a vote in October. In contrast to the OCTG cases where domestic producers have been enjoying a strong market, solid profits and investing in new capacity, the rebar market has been slogging through weak market demand since the non-residential market collapsed at he beginning of the 2008 recession.
In the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) say that it is market demand, not imports, that are the problem. Imports from these two international suppliers have long been part of the US market and since the recession and the weak market conditions, the already competitive rebar market has been even more so.
In weak markets, all suppliers must meet the competition and domestic companies can do so without legal peril. However, should importers do so, they run the risk of anti-dumping complaints even when their behaviour is the same as the domestic producers.
