The U.S. OCTG Manufacturers Association Applauds Final Determination of Evasion Against Thai OCTG Exporters

WASHINGTON, D.C., WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / March 5, 2025 / The U.S. OCTG Manufacturers Association ("USOMA") announces that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency ("Customs") has reached a final determination in its Enforce and Protect Act ("EAPA") investigations into the unlawful transshipment of Chinese oil country tubular goods ("OCTG") to avoid payment of over an estimated quarter billion dollars in antidumping and countervailing duties due the U.S. government.

Customs initiated this investigation after USOMA presented Customs with evidence that two (2) Thai companies had been transshipping OCTG produced in China to the United States while falsely declaring the merchandise to be of Thai origin. Customs EAPA investigations covered ten (10) U.S. importers who received the transshipped product from Thailand from February 2023 to February 2025.

In November 2024, Customs performed on-site visits to the two Thai exporters' facilities in Thailand, and those visits provided further evidence of a lack of production, including the concealment of evidence and falsification of documentation by the Thai companies.

Customs' investigation also raises the question of how the Thai companies managed to get certified by the American Petroleum Institute ("API") to the API 5CT standard. In the United States, OCTG producers abide by strict industry standards and practices to maintain API certification to ensure the safety and integrity of the pipe in the downhole applications where it is used. In comparison, when Customs asked one Thai company to conduct hydrostatic testing of its pipes to show it could met API production standards, all of its samples exploded during the test, indicating manufacturing processes and quality controls far below the requirements of API 5CT standard. USOMA is communicating with API and we encourage API to investigate the fraudulent practices of the Thai exporters and others to address their failure to adhere to API certification requirements.

In its final determination in the EAPA investigations, Customs made an affirmative determination of evasion for all ten importers under investigation based on the evidence on the record. Customs further found that both Thai companies and a number of the importers had engaged in widespread falsification of documents, made numerous false statements and claims to Customs, and had refused to provide information sought by Customs during the investigations. Customs therefore also determined that it was appropriate to apply adverse inferences to the Thai companies and those importers in light of those false claims.

In accordance with the EAPA statute and regulations, Customs stated in its February 24, 2024 final determination that it will take numerous enforcement actions based on its final determination. This will include requiring the importers pay the the antidumping and countervailing duties on OCTG from China. Based on publicly available information, USOMA estimates that the duties that Customs can recover through this EAPA action will be at least $310 million USD, and likely considerably more as Customs uncovered widespread additional evasion actions in these investigations that will be subject to the duties under Customs' action.

"We are grateful to Customs for helping to detect and stop unfair trade practices that threaten the sustainability of the domestic OCTG industry and put American jobs at risk," said Luca Zanotti, Tenaris President for the USA and Chairman of USOMA. "We encourage Customs to take comprehensive action against those who refuse to play by the rules as USOMA member companies continue to provide the highest quality products for the US energy industry."

"Parties involved in this kind of evasion seek to gain an unfair advantage over U.S. producers and other importers who seek to play by the rules and maintain a healthy and fair marketplace that can provide long-term support for America's energy sector." said Jacky Massaglia, Senior Vice President of Vallourec North America and the Vice Chairman of USOMA. "However, given the extreme actions we know that parties in other EAPA investigations have taken when found liable for these duties, the fight to recover these funds is only half over. We urge Customs to take firm action to assure that the duties that have been found to be owed through these investigations are fully collected."

Roger Schagrin of Schagrin Associates, General Counsel to USOMA, stated, "This most recent determination by U.S. Customs provides another demonstration of the powerful tools Customs has under the EAPA statute to uncover and pursue those cheating in U.S. trade and the strong commitment Customs has to use those tools. By diligently bringing and pursuing these investigations, USOMA and U.S. Customs have shown their dedication to protecting the jobs of U.S. workers that would be lost to this unfair trade, dedication we believe will continue to pay off in future actions."

Additional information about this determination is available at USOMA's website.

SOURCE: U.S. OCTG Manufacturers Association