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 U.S. Steel is seeking to halt nearly all imports from China's
largest steel producers and trading houses, in its complaint made
under section 337 of the main U.S. tariff law.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) said in a statement that it
has not made any decisions on the merits of the case.
The commission identified 40 Chinese steel makers and distribution
subsidiaries as respondents, including Baosteel Group, Hebei Iron
and Steel Group, Wuhan Iron and Steel Co Ltd, Maanshan Iron and
Steel Group, Anshan Iron and Steel Group and Jiangsu Shagang Group.
The U.S. Commerce Department has kept up a barrage of efforts to
clamp down on a glut of Chinese steel imports, including announcing
steep anti-dumping duties on corrosion-resistant steel on Wednesday.
U.S. Steel filed its original complaint a month ago, alleging that
it was a victim of a 2011 computer hacking incident that also
prompted U.S. federal cyber-espionage indictments against five
Chinese military officials in 2014.
The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker alleged the hackers stole research
data on production techniques for a new generation of lightweight,
high-strength steel now favored by automakers. It said this
accelerated Chinese competitor Baosteel's ability to replicate the
product, which took U.S. Steel a decade to develop.
"NOTHING WORTH STEALING"
Chinese steelmakers and officials dismissed the need for the probe,
and said steelmakers would contest any findings.
"The U.S. steel industry has already lost its leading position and
there is nothing worth stealing," said an executive with Maanshan
Steel told Reuters. "The United States is a market economy and we
don't understand why they are taking these measures.
"The United States said we conspired," added the executive, who
asked not to be named. "In fact, we wish the domestic steel sector
was able to work together, but this is precisely what we are the
worst at, and it is even less possible that we would distort the
market through government action."
Baosteel, China's second-largest steelmaker and the world's
fourth-largest, said in a statement the United States was acting in
breach of World Trade Organization rules. It urged the Chinese
government to take all necessary measures to ensure the sector
receives fair treatment.
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China's Commerce Ministry said it was resolutely opposed to the probe and would
encourage its firms to legally defend themselves.
The ministry said trade remedy measures recently being taken by the United
States were protectionist, and would artificially interfere with trade rather
than solve the industry's current problems.
"We strongly urge the Chinese government to take counter-measures against the
United States to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese steel
industry and the normal trade order," the China Iron & Steel Association (CISA)
said in a statement.
U.S. Steel Chairman Mario Longhi applauded the ITC's decision to investigate
claims which include that Chinese producers falsely named other countries as the
origin of their products and illegally transhipped them through third countries
to avoid anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties.
"We remain confident that the evidence will prove the Chinese steel producers
engaged in collusion, theft and fraud and we will aggressively seek to stop
those responsible for these illegal trade actions," Longhi said in a statement.
Such intellectual property-based claims have only been made once before by U.S.
steel producers, in 1978 against 35 Japanese makers and importers of welded
stainless steel pipe. But the ITC, rather than barring imports of the products
from Japan, instead ordered 11 firms to stop unfair pricing practices.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Richard Pullin/Ruth
Pitchford)
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