U.S. steelmakers charged Japan and 11 other countries Wednesday with dumping steel concrete reinforcing bars, known as "rebar," in the U.S. market.
The Rebar Trade Action Coalition, a group of eight firms, filed a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission, a federal agency.
"The imports from 12 countries are being sold at less than fair value and are causing or threatening to cause material injury to the eastern tier and Gulf states region of the United States," the coalition said.
The 11 other countries are Australia, Belarus, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Venezuela.