Trade Tribunal: Steel Reviews and Inquiry

Summary#

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal announced three trade-related actions on or around January 15–18, 2024. These include starting a review of an anti-dumping finding for certain corrosion-resistant steel sheet, opening an inquiry into a federal construction-management procurement complaint by EBC Inc., and continuing an existing order on steel piling pipe from China.

What it does#

• Starts an expiry review (file RR-2023-008) of the Tribunal’s February 21, 2019 finding on dumping of certain corrosion-resistant flat-rolled steel sheet imported from the People’s Republic of China, Chinese Taipei, India, and South Korea. The review will:
  • Ask the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to decide whether lifting the finding would likely lead to resumed or continued dumping. The CBSA must give its decision no later than June 13, 2024.
  • Have the Tribunal issue its order and reasons by November 20, 2024.
  • Require interested parties to file participation and representation forms by January 30, 2024.
  • Include a public hearing starting September 9, 2024.
• Began an inquiry (file PR-2023-053) after EBC Inc. complained that the Department of Public Works and Government Services (PWGSC) failed to consider information EBC had submitted on time for a procurement for construction-management services (solicitations EP938-231550 and EP938-231593). The Tribunal decided on January 18, 2024 to hold the inquiry.
• Continued, without change, an existing order (expiry review RR-2022-005) that maintains the Tribunal’s November 30, 2012 finding about dumped and subsidized carbon and alloy steel piling pipe from the People’s Republic of China. That continuation was announced on January 17, 2024.

Who's affected#

• Steel producers and manufacturers in Canada who make or use:
  • the specified corrosion-resistant flat-rolled steel sheet; and
  • carbon and alloy piling pipe.
• Importers and distributors who bring those steel products into Canada from the listed countries.
• Government buyers and construction firms that purchase piling pipe or the corrosion-resistant sheet.
• Companies that bid on the PWGSC construction-management procurement, especially EBC Inc. and other bidders on solicitations EP938-231550 and EP938-231593.
• It is unclear from the notice whether any specific downstream industries (for example, automotive or aerospace) will be directly affected, because some product types were explicitly excluded in the finding.

Why it matters#

• If the Tribunal or the CBSA decides dumping would resume, anti-dumping duties or other trade remedies can continue. That tends to keep prices for those imported steel products higher and offers protection to Canadian steelmakers.
• Importers and buyers could see costs or supply changes depending on the outcome of the corrosion-resistant sheet review.
• The procurement inquiry could affect how federal contracting decisions are handled and could change the outcome of that specific PWGSC contract if the inquiry finds a problem.
• Continuing the piling-pipe order means existing trade relief for that product remains in place, maintaining the current market conditions for domestic producers and importers.