Trade Commission Votes in Support of Vallourec

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-13, applauded the United States International Trade Commission’s vote Friday that allows the U.S. Department of Commerce to continue investigating antidumping and countervailing duty petitions filed in July by Vallourec Star L.P., which manufactures pipe and tube used in the oil and gas industry.

The ITC determined that there is “reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of seamless standard, line and pressure pipe” from Czechia, Korea, Russia and Ukraine that are sold at less than fair value. The commission also noted that there is indication that the Russian and Korean governments subsidize these industries, allowing products to be sold at below market value in the U.S.

“Unfortunately, unfair trade practices have hurt communities in northeast Ohio and across the United States for decades,” Ryan said in a statement. “As a country, we must stand up and speak out against these practices. We must enact policies that favor the American worker.”

Ryan said the vote Friday is an important first step in doing that. “In leveling the playing field for domestic industry leaders like Vallourec, we’re standing behind our workers and ensuring our economy will be competitive now and into the future,” he said.

Vallourec Star is a major employer in Youngstown, where it operates a large seamless pipe mill. An affiliated company, VAM USA, operates a threading mill in the city.

The company filed petitions July 8, arguing that these pipe products were being shipped from the targeted countries to the U.S. and sold here at below-market prices, injuring domestic manufacturers.

In April, Vallourec announced it would permanently cut 59 jobs at its VAM USA site in the Ohio Works Business Park. The company also said it would slash about 900 jobs at its pipe and tube plants worldwide.

The Commerce Department is expected to issue a preliminary determination on countervailing duties by October 1, while a preliminary determination on the antidumping petition is due by Dec. 15, the commission said.

On July 27, Ryan wrote a letter to the ITC in support of Vallourec’s petition. The full text of the letter can be read here
https://timryan.house.gov/sites/timryan.house.gov/files/Vallourec%20Letter_Rep.%20Ryan.pdf

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