Japanese steel industry welcomes end to dumping case

"The Japanese steel industry is gratified that the U.S. steel industry has chosen not to appeal the decision of the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) uupholding the March 2000 determination of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that imports of Japanese cold rolled steel did not injure the U.S. steel industry," Hidenori Tazawa, chairman, Japan Steel Information Center, said today.

In this 1999 dumping case, the ITC originally made a determination of no injury. The U.S. steel industry appealed that decision to the CIT, which asked the ITC to re-examine the case. The ITC still found no injury. The court affirmed the repeated determination. The domestic industry did not file a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, ending the litigation.

"The fact that Japanese cold rolled steel has been fairly traded has now been reaffirmed," Tazawa continued. "We are pleased that after two reviews by both the ITC and the court over the course of a six-year case our original position has been fully upheld. We hope that as a result of this experience, the U.S. steel industry will refrain from seeking unjustified import restrictions in the future."