The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that there is a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of finished carbon steel flanges from India, Italy, and Spain that are allegedly sold in the United States at less than fair value and subsidized by the government of India.

All six Commissioners voted in the affirmative.

As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determinations, the U.S. Department of Commerce will continue to conduct its antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on imports of these products from India, Italy, and Spain, with its preliminary countervailing duty determination due on or about September 23, 2016, and its antidumping duty determinations due on or about December 7, 2016.

The Commission’s public report Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India, Italy, and Spain,  Inv. Nos. 701-TA-563 and 731-TA-1331-1333 (Preliminary), USITC Publication 4631, August 2016) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the investigations.

The report will be available after September 12, 2016.  After that date, it may be accessed on the USITC website at:  http://pubapps.usitc.gov/applications/publogs/qry_publication_loglist.asp.

UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20436

FACTUAL HIGHLIGHTS

Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India, Italy, and Spain
Investigation Nos. 701-TA-563 and 731-TA-1331-1333 (Preliminary)

Product Description: Finished carbon steel flanges are those which have undergone further processing after forging, which can include beveling, bore threading, center or step boring, face machining, recoining or resizing, taper boring, machining ends or surfaces other than a gasket face, drilling bolt holes, and/or de-burring or shot blasting. Any one of these post-forging processes suffices to render the forging into a finished carbon steel flange. However, heat treatment alone of a carbon steel flange forging does not constitute finishing.  Finished carbon steel flanges are generally manufactured to specification ASME 816.5 or ASME 816.47 series A or series 8. All types of finished carbon steel flanges are included in the scope, regardless of pipe size (usually expressed in inches of nominal pipe size), pressure class (e.g., 150, 300, 400, 600, 900, 1,500, 2,500, etc.), type of face (e.g., flat face, full face, raised face, etc.), configuration (e.g., weld neck, slip on, socket weld, lap joint, threaded, etc.), wall thickness (usually expressed in inches), and normalization or heat treatment (which may not always be used).

Status of Proceedings:
1. Type of investigations:  Preliminary antidumping and countervailing duty.
2. Petitioners: Boltex Mfg. Co., L.P., Houston, TX; Weldbend Corporation, Argo, IL.
3. Preliminary investigations instituted by the USITC: June 30, 2016.
4. Commission’s conference: July 21, 2016.
5. USITC vote: August 12, 2016.
6. USITC determinations to the U.S. Department of Commerce: August 15, 2016.
7. USITC views to the U.S. Department of Commerce: August 22, 2016.

U.S. Industry:

1. Number of producers in 2015: Fourteen.
2. Location of producers’ plants:  Texas and Illinois.
3. Employment of production and related workers in 2015:  365.
4. Apparent U.S. consumption in 2015:  $380.6 million.
5. Ratio of the value of total U.S. imports to total U.S. consumption in 2015:  58.2.

U.S. Imports:
1. From the subject countries during 2015:  $162.3 million.
2. From other countries during 2015:  $61.2 million.
3. Leading sources during 2015: India, Italy, Spain, and China (in terms of total value).