Local pipe makers ask for duties on Chinese pipe

Two area pipe makers are asking the federal government to start charging duties on Chinese imports three months sooner than they originally requested.

Wheatland Tube Co. and Sharon Tube Co. are among six U.S. producers of welded standard steel pipe that filed the request this week with the Department of Commerce.

The request is part of petition filed in June by the pipe companies. It asked that duties be imposed on Chinese imports starting in November.

Chinese companies are accelerating exports in advance to avoid possible duties, said Armand Lauzon, chief executive of John Maneely Co. of Washington, D.C., the parent company of both local pipe producers.

U.S. law allows duties to be imposed 90 days prior to the completion of the Department of Commerce’s preliminary investigation of a trade case such as this if certain conditions are met.

For more on this story, see The Vindicator or www.vindy.com Friday.