IPSCO Pleased with Latest Trade Rulings

Lisle, Illinois, 17 August 2001 – IPSCO (NYSE/TSE: IPS) is applauding a ruling today by the United States Trade Commission (ITC) which unanimously found injury from imports of hot-rolled steel from Argentina and South Africa. The affirmative ruling follows the ITC’s final phase antidumping and countervailing duty investigations concerning hot-rolled products from these two countries. 

As a result of the Commission's affirmative determinations, the U.S. Department of Commerce will issue countervailing duty and antidumping duty orders on imports of these products from Argentina and antidumping duty orders on imports of these products from South Africa.

While satisfied with today’s ruling, IPSCO says much safeguarding still needs to be done to protect the steel community from unfairly priced imports. The Section 201 investigation currently underway is the only comprehensive mechanism able to address the successive waves of imports injuring the domestic industry. Without proper protection following from a positive injury finding in the 201 investigation and steps to restore free trade in steel products, IPSCO cautions that offending countries will simply shift to other countries not protected, and import the hot-rolled steel in other product forms.

IPSCO is hopeful the ITC will make a similar ruling against the other countries in the same case, namely China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Romania, and Taiwan.

IPSCO was joined in the filing by Nucor Steel, Steel Dynamics Inc., Gallatin Steel Company, Bethlehem Steel, LTV, National, Weirton Steel, and USS. In filing the ruling IPSCO said it could not sit back and let the injury continue. It said the imports weaken the domestic supply base; and the influx of material from these countries has hurt our employees, our shareholders, and the steel community. 

CANADIAN CASE:

In a separate case, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) today found that imports of hot-rolled steel from 9 out of 12 countries had injured Canadian producers. The CITT found certain flat hot-rolled carbon and alloy steel sheet and strip originating in or exported from Brazil, Bulgaria, the People's Republic of China, Chinese Taipei, India, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, South Africa, Ukraine, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and the subsidizing of certain flat hot-rolled carbon and alloy steel sheet and strip originating in or exported from India have caused injury or retardation or are threatening to cause injury to the domestic industry.

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