US Magnesium LLC (petitioner), on October 24, 2018, filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions on imports of magnesium from Israel.

The U.S. AD law imposes special tariffs to counteract imports that are sold in the United States at less than “normal value.” The U.S. CVD law imposes special tariffs to counteract imports that are sold in the United States with the benefit of foreign government subsidies. For AD/CVD duties to be imposed, the U.S. government must determine not only that dumping and/or subsidies are occurring, but also that there is “material injury” (or threat thereof) by reason of the dumped and/or subsidized imports. Importers are liable for any potential AD/CVD duties imposed. In addition, these investigations could impact purchasers by increasing prices and/or decreasing supply of magnesium.

Scope

The products covered by this investigation are primary and secondary pure and alloy magnesium metal, regardless of chemistry, raw material source, form, shape, or size. Magnesium is a metal or alloy containing by weight primarily the element magnesium. Primary magnesium is produced by decomposing raw materials into magnesium metal. Secondary magnesium is produced by recycling magnesium-based scrap into magnesium metal. The magnesium covered by this investigation also includes blends of primary magnesium, scrap, and secondary magnesium.

The subject merchandise includes the following pure and alloy magnesium metal products made from primary and/or secondary magnesium, including, without limitation, magnesium cast into ingots, slabs, t-bars, rounds, sows, billets, and other shapes, and magnesium ground, chipped, crushed, or machined into raspings, granules, turnings, chips, powder, briquettes, and other shapes: (1) products that contain at least 99.95 percent magnesium, by weight (generally referred to as “ultra-pure” or “high purity” magnesium); (2) products that contain less than 99.95 percent but not less than 99.8 percent magnesium, by weight (generally referred to as “pure” magnesium); and (3) chemical combinations of magnesium and other material(s) in which the magnesium content is 50 percent or greater, but less than 99.8 percent, by weight, whether or not conforming to an “ASTM Specification for Magnesium Alloy.”

The scope of this investigation excludes: (1) magnesium that is in liquid or molten form; and (2) mixtures containing 90 percent or less magnesium in granular or powder form by weight and one or more of certain non-magnesium granular materials to make magnesium-based reagent mixtures, including lime, calcium metal, calcium silicon, calcium carbide, calcium carbonate, carbon, slag coagulants, fluorspar, nephaline syenite, feldspar, alumina (A1203), calcium aluminate, soda ash, hydrocarbons, graphite, coke, silicon, rare earth metals/mischmetal, cryolite, silica/fly ash, magnesium oxide, periclase, ferroalloys, dolomite lime, and colemanite.

The merchandise subject to this investigation is classifiable under items 8104.11.00, 8104.19.00, and 8104.30.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). Although the HTSUS items are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise under investigation is dispositive.

Alleged Dumping Margins

The petitioners allege dumping margins of 126.5 percent to 172.0 percent.

Estimated Schedule of Investigations

• October 24, 2018 – Petition is filed

• November 13, 2018 – DOC initiates investigation

• November 14, 2018 – ITC staff conference

• December 10, 2018 – Deadline for ITC preliminary injury determinations

• January 17, 2018 – Deadline for DOC preliminary CVD determination, if not postponed

• March 25, 2018 – Deadline for DOC preliminary CVD determination, if fully postponed

• April 2, 2019 – Deadline for DOC preliminary AD determination, if not postponed

• May 22, 2019 – Deadline for DOC preliminary AD determination, if fully postponed

• October 4, 2019 – Deadline for DOC final AD and CVD determinations, if both preliminary and final determinations are fully postponed

• November 18, 2019 – Deadline for ITC final injury determinations, assuming fully postponed DOC deadlines