International Trade Commission Finds that Imports of Certain Steel Grating from China Injured Domestic Producers

June 24, 2010

On June 24, 2010, in a unanimous decision, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determined that imports of certain steel grating from China materially injured the domestic industry.     

The case was brought by two domestic producers of steel grating, Alabama Metal Industries Corp. (AMICO) and Fisher & Ludlow Incorporated.  The case alleged that dumped and illegally subsidized steel grating imports from China had materially injured and threatened the U.S. industry with further material injury.  

“We are pleased by the Commission’s affirmative determination that imports of steel grating from China materially injured U.S. producers,” said Alan Price, head of Wiley Rein’s International Trade Practice and counsel to the petitioners in this case, AMICO and Fisher & Ludlow.  “The Commission’s affirmative determination is not surprising given that the Chinese relentlessly pushed continually increasing volumes of dumped and subsidized grating into the U.S. market over the period of investigation by significantly underselling the U.S. producers.  Not only does this decision today ensure that the domestic industry and its workers will receive much need relief from unfairly traded Chinese imports, but it also may serve to protect Americans from potentially unsafe Chinese steel grating that was not produced to the National Association of Architectural Metal Manufacturers (NAAMM) standards.”

The Commission’s affirmative injury determination clears the way for the collection of antidumping and countervailing duties in the amount of the final dumping and subsidy margins calculated by the Department of Commerce. 

Prior to today’s vote, the Department of Commerce determined that Chinese steel grating producers received illegal subsidies in the amount of 62.46 percent of the value of the product and that they dumped steel grating into the United States at margins of 136.76 to 145.18 percent of the value of the goods.  In its determination, the Department found that the Chinese producers that participated in the investigations had provided unreliable and in some cases, false production certifications.  As a result, the NAAMM issued an advisory warning to consumers to independently verify that the Chinese grating they purchased satisfied the industry standards. 

Background:  Steel grating is produced by welding steel bearing bars and cross bars perpendicular to one another to form a panel.  These panels are typically used in industrial flooring applications for walkways, mezzanines, catwalks, platforms, fire escapes, railway platforms, and stairways.  Steel grating is commonly produced to the NAAMM standards.  AMICO has been producing industrial steel products since 1939, and is the largest producer of steel grating in the United States, with production facilities in Birmingham, Alabama, Bourbonnais, Illinois, Dayton, Texas and Orem, Utah.  Fisher & Ludlow, a Nucor Corporation company, is a producer and distributor of steel grating in the United States, with facilities in Saegertown and Wexford, Pennsylvania and Litchfield, Illinois.