Global Geopolitical Series: U.S. Commerce department cracks down on re-exported steel from Vietnam worth billions of dollars

Yet another signal from the Trump administration that the United States would no longer tolerate malpractices in trade. The latest actions by the U.S. Commerce Department takes on steel exporters from Taiwan, Vietnam, and South Korea trying to bypass duties imposed on them back in 2015.

Last night, the Commerce Department announced its crackdown on certain steel products that are first produced in Korea and Taiwan, which are then shipped to Vietnam for minor processing, and finally exported to the United States as corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) and cold-rolled steel (CRS). The Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) will be collecting tariffs at Commerce Department’s direction on imports of corrosion-resistant steel products and cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using Korean- or Taiwanese-origin substrate.

In 2015, the United States imposed duties on CORE and CRS from Korea and Taiwan and since exporters from these countries have been bypassing the tariffs by sending steel products via Vietnam. According to the department’s calculations “Shipments of CORE from Vietnam to the United States increased from $220 million (in the 40-month period of September 2013 until preliminary duties imposed on South Korean and Taiwanese products in December 2015) to $950 million (40-month period from imposition of preliminary duties in December 2015 until April 2019), which is an increase of 331.9 percent. Additionally, shipments of CRS from Vietnam to the United States increased from $49 million (in the 38-month period of January 2013 until preliminary duties imposed on South Korean and Taiwanese products in February 2016) to $498 million (38-month period from imposition of preliminary duties in March 2016 until April 2019), which is an increase of 916.4 percent.”

The enquiry was initiated based on petition filed by domestic producers of CORE and CRS: Steel Dynamics, Inc. (IN), California Steel Industries (CA), AK Steel Corporation (OH), ArcelorMittal USA LLC (IN), Nucor Corporation (NC), and United States Steel Corporation (PA).

Actions like these have increased under the Trump administration and by as much as 417 percent, compared to similar period under his predecessor.