Russia in Tentative Pact to Curb Steel Exports to U.S.

Russia agreed Monday to curb steel exports to the United States by as much as 70% under a tentative deal with Washington to suspend an anti-dumping case against Russian exports.

Commerce Secretary Bill Daley said Russia would halt exports of hot-rolled steel, a basic industry product, for six months, then limit shipments to the U.S. to 1996 levels. Russia also agreed to keep other steel exports at 1997 levels.

“All these actions are intended to provide much needed relief to the U.S. steel industry and workers, who have faced dramatic surges in unfairly traded imports over the past year,” Daley said.

The deal, which is subject to a public comment period before it becomes final, would suspend an anti-dumping case brought by U.S. steelmakers and workers against Russian hot-rolled steel, which they said was being sold in the United States at less than fair value.

The Commerce Department agreed that the steel was being dumped in a preliminary decision that was announced with the suspension agreement. The government set preliminary dumping duties of 71% to 218% on Russian hot-rolled steel.

The duties would go into effect if the deal announced Monday failed to take effect or if Russia violated the terms of the agreement, U.S. officials said.

In any event, the duties would be subject to a final Commerce Department ruling and a finding by the International Trade Commission that U.S. industry is being harmed by the imports.

The Commerce Department plans to hold a public hearing on the deal next week.

At a news conference, Daley said the Clinton administration wanted to address U.S. industry and worker concerns about a flood of cheap imports in 1998 from Russia and other countries, including Japan and Brazil.