Individual company margins range from zero to 51.34 percent. These antidumping duties are in addition to the antisubsidy duties imposed by the Commerce Department on November 6, 2007, when it was determined that the government of China was illegally subsidizing Chinese pipe makers. Circular welded steel pipe products, known as standard and structural pipe, are used in plumbing applications, HVAC systems, sprinkler systems, fencing and construction.
The pipe imports subject to the petition against China have surged from 10,000 tons in 2002 to more than 750,000 tons in 2007 - a 6,900 percent increase. The result has been the loss of 500 American jobs, approximately 25 percent of the total workforce employed in this segment of the domestic pipe industry.