Tim Brightbill Discusses Tariff Ruling by Commerce Department

December 23, 2015

Timothy C. Brightbill, a partner in Wiley Rein’s International Trade Practice, was quoted in a Bloomberg article published yesterday about a preliminary finding by the U.S. Department of Commerce that corrosion-resistant steel imports from China should be taxed at 256%. Imports from India, South Korea and Italy will be taxed at lower rates, Bloomberg reported.

According to the article, the tariffs announced by Commerce, combined with countervailing duties, will help U.S. manufacturers whose business has been harmed by unfairly priced steel products. However, Mr. Brightbill, who along with International Trade Practice chair Alan H. Price, represents U.S. steelmaker Nucor Corp., raised concerns that the preliminary duties on imports from four of the five countries are insufficient. Nucor Corp. and other domestic manufacturers had filed petitions that led to the Commerce investigation.

“We’re concerned that the dumping that’s occurring is at higher levels than these determinations reflect,” Mr. Brightbill told Bloomberg. “We have serious concerns that these preliminary duties are not enough at a time when unfairly priced imports continue to surge into the U.S. market at unprecedented rates.”