USA introduces anti-dumping on wire rod imports

The United States will levy anti-dumping duties on imports of carbon and alloy steel wire rods because of their detrimental effects on domestic industries, the US Chamber of Commerce said Tuesday.

The US International Trade Commission said it determined that the domestic industry was "materially affected" by imports of carbon steel wire rod from South Korea, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK.

The Commerce Department determined in March that five countries were dumping goods in the US market.

"As a result of the affirmative decisions, USITC (US Department of Commerce) issues anti-dumping orders for the import of this product from Italy, Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom," the press release said.

In the case of South Korea, steel companies such as POSCO will face a 41.1 percent tariff.

The decision comes a day after the US officially exempted South Korea from a 25 percent tariff on steel imports. South Korea will instead be obliged to impose an annual quota equivalent to about 70 percent of its recent exports.

In response to the latest anti-dumping duties, the South Korean Commerce Department said it would ask the US government to take "objective and fair" measures on Korean products through bilateral and multilateral channels. POSCO will raise counterarguments when Washington conducts annual reviews of its responsibilities, the ministry said in a statement.

South Korea exported $ 17 million worth of carbon and alloy steel wire to the United States in 2017, according to the Department of Commerce, representing just 0.5 percent of total U.S. wire rod imports.