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U.S. says Japan dumps steel
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April 29, 1999: 2:38 p.m. ET
Commerce Department threatens to impose tariffs as high as 67%
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday Japan has been dumping hot-rolled carbon steel in the American market, and threatened to impose tariffs of up to 67 percent on the cheap imports.
The department's ruling comes after appeals from the U.S. steel industry, which says it is struggling to survive as the market has become a dumping ground for overseas steel priced lower than its market value.
The department's decision would, in effect, impose a tariff of anywhere from 17 percent to 67 percent on Japanese steel imports.
Separately, the independent International Trade Commission is scheduled to determine whether Japanese steel imports are harming U.S. industry. That decision is due in early June.
If the commission confirms the Commerce Department ruling, the department said, steel imports from all Japanese companies except Nippon Steel and NKK Corp. will be liable to anti-dumping duties retroactive to November.
The department's decision Thursday confirms its preliminary ruling in November that cheap steel products from abroad were being dumped on the U.S. market. The U.S. government also is conducting similar dumping investigations of steel products from Brazil and Russia.
A final determination on Brazilian imports is scheduled June 10, while a decision on Russian steel is to be made July 6, the department said.
In response to the ongoing investigation, Russia agreed in February to reduce its steel exports to the U.S. and the two countries have drafted an agreement that would end the probe. 
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