NEW YORK — The Commerce Department and Russia said late Friday that they have reached a tentative agreement concerning an existing suspension agreement on hot-rolled steel.

The agreement allows Russia to ship steel to the United States as long as it’s under a certain annual volume threshold and above a certain quarterly pricing point. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) issued a preliminary ruling earlier this year that the agreement no longer prevented the undercutting of domestic prices (amm.com, May 29).

Under the terms of the draft agreement announced Friday, minimum prices for Russian steel sold into the United States would be increased to “bring them into alignment with current U.S. prices.”
 
Reference prices for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2012, will rise approximately 47 percent to $601.75 per tonne for commercial and structural quality steel, $661.92 per tonne for high-strength low-alloy steel and $770.24 per tonne for high grade coils and sheets for pipes and casings.

Interested parties should submit comments by Nov. 23.