International Trade Commission Approves AISC's Fabricated Steel Dumping Complaint

First hurdle cleared for including fabricated steel in tariffs

If the Department of Commerce rules in favor of the American Institute of Steel Construction's trade case, tariffs could be placed on structural steel used in building projects. Photo by Jeff Yoders/ENR

The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Mar. 20 that domestic producers were being harmed by imports of fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico. That means an investigation into whether Canada, Mexico and China's imports are harming U.S.-based fabricators will continue and tariffs may eventually be placed on the structural steel products that are used by contractors in building projects.

The ITC decision means that an anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation will proceed. The U.S. Commerce Dept. initiated action last month in response to a petition from the American Institute of Steel Construction.

"The petition is a strong one and speaks for itself," says Brian Raff, director of communications and public affairs for the AISC, a trade organization that represents U.S.-based fabricators and detailers.

The anti-dumping duties alleged against the three countries are 31.46% for Canada, 41.39% for Mexico and 218.95% for China. AISC estimated that the countries targeted in the petition accounted for an estimated 20% of U.S. fabricated steel consumption in 2017.

ENR Midwest Editor and Associate Technology Editor Jeff Yoders has been writing about design and construction innovations for 16 years. He is a two-time Jesse H. Neal award winner and multiple ASBPE winner for his tech coverage. Jeff previously launched Building Design + Construction's building information modeling blog and wrote a geographic information systems column at CE News. He also wrote about materials prices, construction procurement and estimation for MetalMiner.com. He lives in Chicago, the birthplace of the skyscraper, where the pace of innovation never leaves him without a story to chase.

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