WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The U.S. International Trade Commission voted Thursday to revoke antidumping duties imposed five years ago on imports of structural steel beams from Japan and South Korea.
In a 5-1 vote after its five-year "sunset" review process, the commission "determined that revoking the existing countervailing duty and antidumping duty orders . . . would not be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonable foreseeable time," the ITC said in a statement.
If the U.S. industry does not appeal and the decision becomes final, it will be the first of a host of U.S. antidumping duties imposed on imports of Japanese steel products in the late 1990s to be terminated.
Industry analysts said the decision apparently reflects an ongoing shortage of steel products due to strong demand for their use in reconstruction work in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina last summer.