The Coalition of American Flange Producers (CAFP) has formally filed a petition with the US Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission, asserting that imports of stainless steel flanges from China and India are being sold into the United States at 'dumped prices' below cost to gain an unfair competitive advantage. In violation of international trade rules, Chinese and Indian producers of stainless steel flanges receive improper government subsidies, such as tax breaks and discounted land and raw materials. All of these illegal actions cause material injury to the US stainless steel flange industry, asserts the CAFP.
A press release issued by the CAFP claims that "improper subsidies have enabled Chinese and Indian manufacturers to dump products into the US market at prices that are well below fair market value." The organisation claims that "import data clearly demonstrate that the volume of Chinese and Indian stainless steel flanges sold in the US has increased significantly this year, and that the foreign producers of these subsidised and dumped imports have taken sales directly from US manufacturers".
Daniel B Pickard, counsel to the CAFP and a partner in Wiley Rein LLP, an international trade practice based in the USA, said that the US steel industry and its workers were suffering as a result of dumped and subsidised imports from China and India. “We urge the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission to thoroughly investigate these unfair trade practices and to apply the trade remedy laws to dumped and subsidised Chinese and Indian products,” he said.
The CAFP claims it is committed to standing up for American workers and supporting US manufacturers. It argues that the Administration must take steps to preserve the US manufacture of stainless steel flanges by combating the rising tide of unfairly traded imports into the United States from China and India.