Local pipe and tube producers at odds again with Chinese

Wheatland Tube and other domestic pipe and tube producers say Chinese companies are cheating to evade duties that were enacted in 2008.

Chinese companies are labeling shipments to make them seem like they are coming from Malaysia, Vietnam or other countries that don’t face duties, said Roger Schagrin, a lawyer for the Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports.

The domestic producers also found one case of Chinese pipe that had documents describing it as a shipment of used books, he said.

“We think there’s a lot of fraud going on,” he said.

The producers have formed an industry task force that has asked the U.S. government to take law enforcement action, Schagrin said.

For the complete story, see Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com