US metallurgists oppose Russian steel imports

American steelmakers have demanded that the Department of Commerce cancel the trade agreement that spares Russian CTL carbon steel producers from import duties.

US steelmakers such as Nucor Corp, SSAB and Arcelor Mittal LLC said the flood of cheap carbon steel has hit local industries hard. They speculate that Russian manufacturers have violated the terms of an agreement originally signed in 1997, as amended in 2003, on deferred anti-dumping duties on products.

"The treaty and its usual pricing mechanism failed to function as originally envisioned and instead helped boost exports from Russian manufacturers who are steadily increasing their supply of low-priced wafers to the US market," the companies said in an appeal to the Department of Commerce.

Last year, US metallurgists managed to break an agreement on Russian hot rolled products, flat products, carbon high-quality steel, which prevented imports at minimal prices.

If this second agreement is also canceled, Russian Severstal will face anti-dumping duties of 53.81 percent, while other Russian producers and exporters will face duties of up to 185.00 percent, according to a spokesman for one of the companies concerned. Russian imports of sheet steel grew by more than 2,800 percent during 2014 compared to 2013, to more than 55,000 tonnes, the companies said.

In addition, US companies are accusing Chinese steelmakers of tax evasion by classifying a carbon steel gauge plate as an alloy, adding some elements.