For purposes of this order, stainless steel wire rod (SSWR), comprises products that are hot-rolled or hot-rolled annealed and/or pickled and/or descaled rounds, squares, octagons, hexagons or other shapes, in coils, that may also be coated with a lubricant containing copper, lime or oxalate. SSWR is made of alloy steels containing, by weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon and 10.5 percent or more of chromium, with or without other elements. These products are manufactured only by hot-rolling or hot-rolling, annealing, and/or pickling and/or descaling, and are normally sold in coiled form, and are of solid cross-section. The majority of SSWR sold in the United States is round in cross-sectional shape, annealed and pickled, and later cold-finished into stainless steel wire or small-diameter bar.
The most common size for such products is 5.5 millimeters or 0.217 inches in diameter, which represents the smallest size that normally is produced on a rolling mill and is the size that most wire drawing machines are set up to draw. The range of SSWR sizes normally sold in the United States is between 0.20 inches and 1.312 inches in diameter. Two stainless steel grades SF20T and K-M35FL are excluded from the scope of the order. The percentages of chemical makeup for the excluded grades are as follows:
SF20T
Carbon--0.05 max
Manganese--2.00 max
Phosphorous--0.05 max
Sulfur--0.15 max
Silicon--1.00 max
Chromium--19.00/21.00
Molybdenum--1.50/2.50
Lead--added (0.10/0.30)
Tellurium--added (0.03 min)
K-M35FL
Carbon--0.015 max
Silicon--0.70/1.00
Manganese--0.40 max
Phosphorous--0.04 max
Sulfur--0.03 max
Nickel--0.30 max
Chromium--12.50/14.00
Lead--0.10/0.30
Aluminum--0.20/0.35
The products subject to this order are currently classifiable under subheadings 7221.00.0005, 7221.00.0015, 7221.00.0030, 7221.00.0045, and 7221.00.0075 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is dispositive. |