Canadian tribunal suggests dumping taking place in imports of fabricated steel components

On November 10th, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) announced that it had conducted a preliminary injury inquiry into whether dumping of fabricated structural steel and plate‑work components from China, South Korea, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom have caused injury or threaten to cause injury to the domestic market. Results of the inquiry suggest that there are reasonable grounds to indicate that such practices have been injurious or threaten to be.

The tribunal looked at process equipment, process enclosures, access structures, process structures, and structures for conveyancing and material handling, including steel beams, columns, braces, frames, railings, stairs, trusses, conveyor belt frame structures and galleries, bents, bins, chutes, hoppers, ductwork, process tanks, pipe racks and apron feeders, whether assembled or partially assembled into modules, or unassembled, for use in structures for: 1. oil and gas extraction, conveyance and processing; 2. mining extraction, conveyance, storage, and processing; 3. industrial power generation facilities; 4. petrochemical plants; 5. cement plants; 6. fertilizer plants; and 7. industrial metal smelters.

According to the CITT website, this preliminary injury inquiry follows the notification, on September 12, 2016, that the President of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) had initiated investigations into the alleged injurious dumping and subsidizing of the above-mentioned goods.

The inquiry was carried out pursuant to subsection 37.1(1) of the Special Import Measures Act. More information will be available on the CITT website later this month.