May 27, 2010 by NADCA in NADCA News
Wheeling, IL – May 27, 2010 – NADCA recently filed a response to the International Trade Commission (ITC) in hopes to help lift ITC’s tariffs on imported magnesium alloy. Since many die casters have been harmed by the excessive prices being charged by the sole magnesium alloy producer in the U.S., NADCA has filed this response in regards to the Sunset Review of this particular ITC tariff. Under the Sunset Review procedure, the antidumping duty orders on magnesium from China and Russia are reexamined every five years to determine whether or not they should be upheld.
By filing this response, NADCA, with the help of member magnesium die casters, is entering its opinion into the debate of whether or not to retain the antidumping duties on magnesium. Below is a summary of what NADCA communicated in its initial filing.
NADCA is concerned about magnesium die casters having access to alloy magnesium in the U.S. at globally competitive prices. The antidumping duty orders effectively bar Russian and Chinese alloy magnesium from the U.S. market. Prices for alloy magnesium are higher in the U.S. than elsewhere due to the antidumping duty orders currently in place in the U.S. but not in other major consumer markets.
The lack of effective competition in the U.S. market ― there is only one significant U.S. producer of alloy magnesium, US Magnesium LLC ― has harmed die casters since the imposition of the antidumping duty orders in 2005. NADCA estimates that as many as 1,675 direct jobs and 8,000 supporting jobs have been lost in the die casting industry due to the imposition of these orders.
US Magnesium has not made significant efforts to maintain or increase its sales of alloy magnesium in the U.S. since the imposition of the antidumping duty orders. For example, US Magnesium has not joined in efforts initiated by magnesium end-users to develop new uses of magnesium.
Should the antidumping duty orders be revoked, NADCA believes that there would be no significant adverse impact on US Magnesium. Rather, U.S. consumers of alloy magnesium would be able to regain lost business in the U.S.
NADCA will continue to be involved in the Sunset Review process. Look for more updates in the coming months.