Weldbend Corp. and Boltex Mfg. Co. applauded preliminary determinations from the U.S. Department of Commerce in antidumping duty investigations concerning finished carbon steel flanges from India, Italy and Spain.

This action follows the antidumping petitions filed by Weldbend and Boltex on June 30, 2016, with Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking the enforcement and compliance of Indian, Italian and Spanish manufacturers with U.S. and international trade laws.

“We are greatly encouraged by Commerce’s preliminary determinations on the subject merchandise. These determinations continue the process of eliminating unfair trade practices by Indian, Italian and Spanish producers, which are in contravention of the law,” said James J. Coulas Jr., owner and president of Weldbend Corp.

“These preliminary determinations vindicate our belief that producers of flanges from these countries have been selling their products in the United States at significant dumping margins. We hope that with the enforcement of trade rules and regulations through these investigations, a level playing field can be restored,” said Frank Bernobich, president and chairman of the board of Boltex.

With respect to the antidumping investigation involving Spanish respondent Ulma Forja, S. Coop, it is being assigned the punishing dumping rate of 24.43% because it refused to cooperate with the U.S. government’s investigation. All other Spanish producers are assigned the rate of 18.81%. These rates are expected to remain the same in the final dumping margin determination scheduled for April 2017, Weldbend and Boltex noted.

Similarly, in the case involving Italy, Metalfar Prodotti Industriali S.p.A. refused to cooperate and is being assigned a rate of 204.53%. The other Italian producer, Officine Ambrogio Melesi & C. S.r.l., also was preliminarily assigned a rate of 204.53%.

All other Italian producers are assigned the rate of 79.17%. Finally, Norma (India) Limited and R. N. Gupta & Company Ltd., the respondents in the antidumping case against India, are being assigned the rates of 8.58% and 12.56% respectively. All other Indian producers are assigned the rate of 10.57%.

In November 2016, both of these Indian producers were also found preliminarily to have received illegal government subsidies, resulting in countervailing duty margins of 2.76% and 3.66%, respectively. The additional duties that will be imposed on Indian imports will be the sum of the antidumping duties and the countervailing duties.

Once these preliminary rates are published in the Federal Register (in about 5 days time), U.S. importers will begin having to post cash deposits on the imports of finished carbon steel flanges at these announced rates.

Weldbend and Boltex said they will continue to remain actively engaged in these investigations as they proceed to final determinations.

The companies noted Commerce has outstanding information requests pending with some of these producers and has yet to conduct its on-site verifications at each of their locations. “Thus, and especially with respect to India, the final dumping rates are expected to be even higher than those announced today,” the companies added.

Weldbend and Boltex said they look forward to the International Trade Commission’s final determinations of the effects of the dumped and subsidized imports on the domestic industry, which are expected on August 15, 2017, as well as the final determinations at the Department of Commerce, which are expected to be issued the week of April 13, 2017.

Finished carbon steel flanges are forged rings of steel designed to join two sections of a piping system or to start a piping system from a pressure vessel, valve, or any other flange assembly.