To the Editor:

I appreciate the opportunity to comment on your Dec. 10, 2012, article entitled "Chinese producers excluded from anti-dumping review of carbon steel plate." The article gives the mistaken impression that the Commerce Department’s final determination in the administrative review of cut-to-length plate from China resulted in the reduction of U.S. anti-dumping margins (or even exclusion from the order) for Chinese producers Baosteel Group Corp. and Hunan Valin Steel Co. Ltd. To the contrary, the department’s final determination resulted in the status quo with respect to both companies. In fact, Baosteel remains subject to significant anti-dumping duties (30.51 percent) and, as a result, is not active in the U.S. plate market.

Moreover, the department’s determination resulted in the substantial increase of dumping margins for Chinese producers Anshan Iron & Steel Group Corp. and Liaoning Steel because they failed to establish eligibility for a separate rate. As a result, both companies will be subject to the China-wide rate of 128.59 percent—a significant increase from Anshan’s and Liaoning’s previous margins of 30.68 percent and 17.33 percent, respectively.