More Section 232 Product Exclusion Denials Posted
Nearly two weeks after the last batch of Section 232 tariff exclusion determinations were posted, the Bureau of Industry and Security posted eight more denials, all for Borusan Mannesmann Pipe in Texas, a Turkish-owned oil country tubular goods production facility.
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BMP, which finishes about 135,000 tons of green tube imported from its parent company in Turkey, also creates its own welded OCTG casing without relying on imports. Lawyers representing BMP said that if the 232 investigation had not begun, the company intended to make capital investments in Baytown, Texas, that would have added 50 jobs, and if the exclusion were to be granted, both that investment and an additional investment would have been made, for a total of 100 to 120 jobs. They said the company would no longer be importing pipe at the end of two years. Currently, about 275 people work at the plant.
The decision memos posted July 5 were all signed on June 19, which is earlier than for some of the previously posted memos. The company did not learn about the denials until they were posted. Julie Mendoza, a lawyer with Morris, Manning & Martin, said, "The company was quite surprised their request was turned down." Her firm represented five companies still waiting to hear. "We filed for Borusan right away. They should've been in the first round," she said.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross testified in Congress that all the product exclusion requests that draw objections from the domestic industry will be denied. It's not clear how many of the requests have drawn objections. "Leaving it in the hands of the domestic industry which exclusions should be granted and which shouldn't be is kind of crazy," Mendoza said. "There's no rebuttal process." The Senate Finance Committee's top Republican and Democrat have both said the exclusion process is broken (see 1804190048).
While the domestic producers are asked how long it would take them to start producing the item that's being imported, Mendoza said there's no verification. She said in BMP's case, U.S. Steel didn't claim they could supply the large diameter pipe it imports, but said more investment from Turkey shouldn't be encouraged in Texas.
Each rejection notice from BIS said: "In examining whether the relevant steel article is produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or of a satisfactory quality, ITA recommends finding, based on all of the evidence presented, that the product referenced in the above-captioned exclusion request is produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount and of a satisfactory quality, and recommends denying the request for an exclusion."
According to BMP, its pipes were used to construct the Elba pipeline, which moves natural gas across Georgia so it can be exported from a liquefied natural gas facility in Savannah.