US rules against subsidy complaint on Turkish steel rebar imports

WASHINGTON - Reuters

The U.S. Commerce Department rejected part of a complaint about imports of steel concrete reinforcing bars from Turkey but is still considering whether the bars were sold at unfairly low prices.

The department said Feb. 20 the bars, used to strengthen concrete structures, had not been made using subsidies which unfairly benefited foreign companies.

A separate ruling is due in April on whether the bars were sold in the United States at below-market prices, after a complaint from companies including Nucor Corporation, Gerdau Ameristeel US, Commercial Metals Company, Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, and Byer Steel Group.

A majority of the commissioners at the U.S. International Trade Commission voted in November that there was a “reasonable indication” that U.S. manufacturers were injured by imports from Turkey and Mexico.

In 2013, imports of steel concrete reinforcing bars from Turkey were valued at approximately $381.3 million, the Commerce department said.