MoE terminates investigations on pipe exports

Abdullah Sultan Al Fan Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary for Industrial Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, affirmed that the Ministry of Economy (MoE) successfully terminated two countervailing investigations on UAE exports of steel pipes initiated by the Canadian Borders Services Agency (CBSA) on May 15, 2012 and the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) on Nov.15, 2012. Al Shamisi confirmed that the CBSA, which is the Canadian investigating authority on subsidisation, issued on Nov.9, 2012 a negative final determination on subsidy in respect of UAE, and therefore terminated the subsidy investigation concerning UAE exports of steel pipes. The termination of the investigation was on the basis of the arguments and evidences provided by the MoE in response to the CBSA requests for information and the verification visit that the CBSA investigators carried out at the MoE on September 2012. These clearly demonstrated that the GUAE is not providing any subsidy that might be not consistent with the Agreement on Subsidy and Countervailing Measures (ASCM). As regards the US countervailing and antidumping investigations, Abdullah confirmed also that the USITC issued on Nov.14, 2012 its negative final determination regarding both investigations affirming that the US industry is not materially injured or threatened due to imports of steel pipes from inter alia UAE and consequently, no antidumping or countervailing duty duties will be imposed on UAE exports of the said product to the US market. Al Shamisi clarified that the US proceedings regarding trade remedy investigations are based on the distribution of competences between two separate entities, which are the Department of Commerce and the USITC.