USS said digging for South Korea OCTG info, gearing up for trade case

Dec 03, 2010 | 06:16 AM |

U.S. Steel Corp. is said to be gathering information in advance of a possible trade petition against imports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from South Korea, according to traders and distributors.

Some claim a filing is "imminent."

The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker has reportedly asked for information such as invoices or offers South Korean mills or exporters may have made to buyers in the U.S. Such information could be useful in supporting an eventual filing.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Steel declined to comment on whether the steelmaker might be preparing to file a trade petition.

"USS is looking for information on the Koreans," one distributor said. He claimed imports from the country were "going to get hit" by an "imminent" trade case filing.

"U.S. Steel has been calling up people for information," another trader agreed. "They are gathering (information), getting ready for a dumping case."

The rumor mill is churning on expectations that U.S. Steel may file a threat-of-injury case at the U.S. International Trade Commission—and soon.

Check StatFlash on page 10. As you'll see, OCTG imports from South Korea started in earnest in January 2010 and have pretty much dominated the U.S. OCTG import market since at least July of this year.....