U.S. keeps antidumping duties on South Korean oil country tubular goods for five more years; NEXTEEL 29.94%, SeAH Steel 9.80%

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Commerce Department's International Trade Administration (ITA) published notice in the Federal Register on the 22nd (local time) that it is continuing antidumping and countervailing duty orders on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from South Korea, India, Türkiye, Vietnam and Ukraine. The notice first appeared on the Federal Register's public inspection a day earlier, on the 21st. The continuation is effective Sept. 29. Antidumping duties on South Korean products, first imposed in September 2014, were not revoked in the first sunset review in 2020 or in this second sunset review. In the latest administrative review of South Korean products, antidumping duty rates of 29.94% for NEXTEEL and 9.80% for SeAH Steel Corporation were set.

Commerce continues orders on five countries effective Sept. 29

The notice (Federal Register document number 2026-21530) covers five antidumping orders and two countervailing duty orders together. The antidumping orders cover products from India, South Korea, Türkiye, Vietnam and Ukraine, and the countervailing duty orders cover products from India and Türkiye. The case number for South Korea is A-580-870. The signatory is Scot Fullerton, acting deputy assistant secretary for antidumping and countervailing duty operations, and the signing date is Oct. 16. The notice appears on pages 66681-66682 of Volume 91 of the Federal Register.

The Commerce Department said it is continuing the orders under Section 751(d)(2) of the Tariff Act on the basis of determinations by Commerce and the International Trade Commission (ITC). Commerce wrote that it "hereby orders the continuation of the Orders." Accordingly, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to collect antidumping and countervailing duty cash deposits at the rates in effect at the time of entry. Rates by country and company were not included in this notice.

Commerce said it intends to initiate the next five-year review no later than 30 days before the fifth anniversary of the ITC's last determination. It cited Section 751(c)(2) of the Tariff Act and 19 CFR 351.218(c)(2) as the basis.

The scope of the products covered was also restated in the notice. They are hollow steel products of circular cross-section, including oil well casing and tubing. Products of iron (other than cast iron) or steel are covered whether seamless or welded, regardless of end finish. OCTG coupling stock is also included. Excluded are casing and tubing containing 10.5% or more chromium by weight, drill pipe, unattached couplings and unattached thread protectors. The notice lists the current classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) as headings in the 7304.29, 7305.20 and 7306.29 series, and states that products may also enter under the 7304.39, 7304.59, 7305.31, 7306.30 and 7306.50 series. The notice says the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and that the written description of the scope is dispositive.

Commerce sunset review receives not a single response from South Korea or other exporting countries

The second sunset reviews were initiated simultaneously by Commerce and the ITC on July 1, 2025. Commerce's final results were published in the Federal Register on Jan. 9, 2026. The signatory was Abdelali Elouaradia, deputy assistant secretary for enforcement and compliance, and the signing date was Jan. 5.

On the U.S. side, the United States Oil Country Tubular Goods Manufacturers Association (USOMA) and United States Steel Corporation filed notices of intent to participate on July 16, 2025. The two filed substantive responses within the deadline on July 31. The exporting side was different. Commerce said it "did not receive a substantive response from any respondent interested party." Commerce notified the ITC of this on Aug. 22, 2025, and the reviews proceeded on an expedited basis. Because of the federal government shutdown, deadlines were tolled by 47 days and then by another 21 days, making the deadline for the final results Jan. 5, 2026.

Commerce determined that revocation of the orders would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping. Commerce gave the weighted-average dumping margins likely to prevail if the orders were revoked as 6.49% for South Korea, 11.24% for India, 35.86% for Türkiye, 111.47% for Vietnam and 7.47% for Ukraine. The names of exporting companies were not included in the notice. According to this continuation notice, the final results of the countervailing duty sunset reviews on products from India and Türkiye were published in the Federal Register a day earlier, on Jan. 8, 2026.

All five voting ITC commissioners back keeping duties on South Korean products

The ITC, which examines injury to industry, opted for full rather than expedited reviews. On Nov. 24, 2025, the ITC decided to conduct a full review for Ukraine, finding both the domestic and respondent interested party responses adequate. For India, Türkiye, South Korea and Vietnam, it found the respondent interested party responses inadequate. Even so, the ITC decided to conduct full reviews for these countries as well, citing administrative efficiency. The decision was issued in a notice on Jan. 30, 2026, after its schedule was halted by a lapse in government appropriations.

In a scheduling notice published in the Federal Register on March 24, 2026, the ITC found the reviews "extraordinarily complicated" and decided to extend the review period by up to 90 days. The staff report for the confidential record was scheduled for July 8, and an in-person hearing for 9:30 a.m. on July 23. The deadline for post-hearing briefs was Aug. 3, and for final comments Sept. 3.

In a news release (26-130) on Sept. 9, the ITC determined that revoking the orders would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to a U.S. industry within a reasonably foreseeable time. Chairman Brett W. Doyle and Commissioners Peter-Anthony Pappas, Bart Thanhauser and David Foley Jr. voted in the affirmative on all antidumping orders on the five countries and the countervailing duty orders on the two countries. Commissioner Jason E. Kearns voted in the affirmative on the antidumping orders on South Korea and three other countries and the countervailing duty orders on the two countries, and in the negative only on the antidumping order on Ukraine. According to the ITC's determination notice, Commissioner Samuael T. Negatu did not participate in these reviews because he was not a commissioner at the time. Chairman Doyle and Commissioners Pappas, Thanhauser and Foley also did not vote in the Nov. 24, 2025, adequacy vote because they were not commissioners at the time.

The ITC explained that the decision is part of the five-year sunset review process under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. That law requires Commerce to revoke an order after five years unless Commerce determines that dumping or subsidies are likely to continue and the ITC determines that material injury is likely to continue.

The ITC's determinations were issued on Sept. 24 and published in the Federal Register on Sept. 29. The ITC said its report (USITC Publication 5790) would be posted on its website by Oct. 22.

South Korean companies' rates jump from 0% in previous review to as high as 29.94%

Separately from the continuation of the orders, rates on South Korean products have recently risen sharply. On Sept. 24, Commerce published in the Federal Register the final results of the antidumping administrative review of South Korean OCTG covering Sept. 1, 2023, through Aug. 31, 2024. NEXTEEL was at 29.94% and SeAH Steel at 9.80%. Companies not individually examined were assigned 19.87%, the simple average of the two companies' margins.

Sixteen companies receiving the 19.87% rate are listed in the appendix: AJU Besteel, Dong-A Steel, HiSteel, Husteel, Hyundai Steel Company, Hyundai Steel Pipe, ILJIN Steel Corporation, K Steel Corporation, Keonwoo Metals, Kukje Steel, Kumkang Kind, MSTEEL, Nissei Trading, POSCO International Corporation, Sung Won Steel and TGS Pipe.

The difference from the immediately preceding review is large. In the final results for September 2022 through August 2023, published by Commerce in the Federal Register on May 30, 2025, all six companies, NEXTEEL, SeAH Steel, AJU Besteel, Hyundai Steel, Husteel and ILJIN Steel, were at 0.00%. Commerce said at the time it would instruct CBP to liquidate entries from that period without regard to antidumping duties.

The new cash deposit rates apply to entries on or after the Sept. 24 publication date of the notice. Companies not covered by this review keep their previously assigned company-specific rates, and companies not falling into any category are assigned the all-others rate of 5.24% set in the original investigation. Commerce said it would not issue liquidation instructions until 35 days after publication. If a case is filed with the U.S. Court of International Trade, liquidation will be delayed until the period for seeking an injunction has expired. Commerce again reminded importers that they must file a certificate before liquidation stating that they have not been reimbursed by exporters for antidumping duties. Failure to file could result in a presumption that reimbursement occurred and in antidumping duties being doubled.