Final Thoughts

The complaint filed by the domestic steel mills against China for circumvention of duties by converting Chinese substrate in Vietnam and then shipping it to the U.S. as Vietnamese products goes against trade rules that have been in place for many years. It has been understood that transforming hot rolled into cold rolled and/or galvanized is significant transformation thus changing the HTS codes (Harmonized Tariff Schedule). So, it appears the domestic mills are trying to use the political climate in an effort that the U.S. can overturn (overlook) what has been in place since 1988 and is recognized by 200 countries around the world.

As trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz mentioned in a previous article on the subject, the US Department of Commerce has the flexibility to rule in favor of the domestic steel mills. Most likely, any ruling in favor of the domestic mills (should that happen) would be over-turned by the World Trade Organization.