The U.S. Court of International Trade has ordered the U.S. International Trade Commission to reverse its August 2000 ruling that tin products imported from Japan are hurting U.S. industry, trade sources said Monday.
Earlier this month, the court judged the ITC ruling unfair and groundless and told the independent federal agency to issue a new ruling saying that the Japanese imports are not injuring domestic manufacturers, the sources said.
The ITC is expected soon to decide whether to accept the order or take the case to a court of appeals, they said.
As a result of the August 2000 ITC ruling, Japanese tin makers have been paying antidumping duties.
The antidumping duty is 95.29 percent for NKK Corp., Nippon Steel Corp., Kawasaki Steel Corp. and Toyo Kohan Co., and 32.52 percent for other companies.
The U.S. Court of International Trade has issued a similar order on the antidumping case involving circular seamless stainless steel hollow products imported from Japan.
On Aug. 6, the ITC, in response to the order, reversed its earlier position and issued a new ruling saying the Japanese imports are not hurting the U.S. steel industry.
Seamless stainless steel hollow products are mainly used in electric power and petrochemical plants.