The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) today determined that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of imports of hot-rolled steel products from Argentina and South Africa that the Department of Commerce has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value and those from Argentina that the Department of Commerce has determined are also subsidized.

All six Commissioners voted in the affirmative. As a result of the Commission's affirmative determinations, the U.S. Department of Commerce will issue countervailing duty and antidumping duty orders on imports of these products from Argentina and antidumping duty orders on imports of these products from South Africa.

The Commission's public report Hot-Rolled Steel Products from Argentina and South Africa (Investigations Nos. 701-TA-404 and 731-TA-898 and 905 (Final), USITC Publication 3446, August 2001) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the investigations.

Copies may be obtained after September 17, 2001, by calling 202-205-1809 or from the Office of the Secretary, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Requests may also be made by fax to 202-205-2104.

Product Description: The products covered by this investigation include hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon steel products of a rectangular shape, of a width of 0.5 inch or greater, neither clad, plated, nor coated with metal and whether or not painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or other nonmetallic substances, in coils regardless of thickness, or in straight lengths, of a thickness less than 4.75 mm and of a width measuring at least 10 times the thickness.

Status of Proceedings:
1.  Type of investigations: Final countervailing duty and final antidumping.(1)
2.  Petitioners:  Bethlehem Steel Corp., Bethlehem, PA; Gallatin Steel Co., Ghent, KY; IPSCO
    Steel, Inc., Lisle, IL; LTV Steel Co., Inc., Cleveland, OH; National Steel Corp., Mishawaka, 
    IN; Nucor Corp., Darlington, SC; Steel Dynamics, Inc., Butler, IN; U.S. Steel Group, a 
    division of USX Corp., Pittsburgh, PA; Weirton Steel Corp., Weirton, WV; and the Independent
    Steelworkers Union, a labor union representing the organized workers at Weirton Steel 
    Corp.(2)
3.  Investigations instituted by USITC:  November 13, 2000.
4.  Hearing: July 17, 2001.
5.  USITC vote: August 17, 2001.
6.  USITC notification of Department of Commerce:  August 27, 2001.

U.S. Industry:
1.  Number of reporting U.S. producers in 2000:  21.
2.  Production volume is concentrated in Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio,
    Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
3.  Employment of production and related workers in 2000:  30,385.
4.  U.S. producers' U.S. shipments (excluding exports) in 2000: Including captive consumption,
    65,219,129 short tons (valued at $19.5 billion); open market shipments, 21,278,667 short tons 
    (valued at $6.6 billion).
5.  U.S. apparent consumption in 2000:  Including captive consumption, 72,535,753 short tons
    (valued at $21.7 billion); open market consumption, 28,595,291 short tons (valued at $8.8 
    billion).
6.  Ratio of quantity of subject imports to U.S. apparent consumption in 2000:  Including captive
    consumption, 0.4 percent; open market consumption, 1 percent.

U.S. Imports in 2000:
1.  From the subject countries listed above: 286,694 short tons (valued at $81.4 million).
2.  From other countries subject to investigation:(3)  3,958,972 short tons (valued at 
    $1.1 billion).
    From countries not subject to investigation:  3,070,958 short tons (valued at $964 million).

(2) On November 16, 2000, the petition was amended to include the United Steelworkers of America as co-petitioners.

(3) Concurrent antidumping investigations were carried out with respect to imports from China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Romania, Taiwan, Thailand, and Ukraine. Concurrent countervailing duty investigations were also carried out with respect to imports from India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Thailand. The Commission will vote on these investigations following Commerce's final dumping and countervailing duty determinations scheduled for September 17, 2001.