Senators ask Biden to reduce South Korean import quotas for piping products

Three Democratic U.S. Senators called on the Biden Administration on Friday to lower the current import quota for oil and gas drilling pipe from South Korea. They said it had impacted businesses in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Sherrod Brown, Bob Casey, and John Fetterman, senators from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania, all noted that the market for Oil Country Tubular Goods - used in drilling, extraction, and transportation of oil and gas - has decreased, resulting in layoffs at companies operating within the United States. Senators noted that the reduced demand for oil and natural gas has affected companies such as Tenaris which operates in Ohio and Pennsylvania and Vallourec which has operations within Ohio.

Companies did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

In 2018, the United States imposed a tariff on certain steel and aluminum imports including OCTG. This included most U.S. Trading Partners, but some exemptions were granted to some allies, including South Korea. The South Korean OCTG Imports quota includes an annual quota.

The senators urged the administration to act to prevent the loss of jobs in the industry due to this outdated quota. They wrote to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Rep Katherine Tai.

Requests for comment from the USTR, Commerce or South Korean Embassy in Washington were not immediately responded to.

Senators claimed that OCTG's U.S. operations had seen over 220 layoffs and reductions of workforce in plants located in Ohio, Pennsylvania Oklahoma, Texas. (Reporting and editing by William Maclean, David Shepardson)

(source: Reuters)