US Lets Perfiles LM Keep Old Anti-Dumping Rate on Mexican Steel Tubes

United States Commerce Department ruled preliminarily on Oct. 26, 2026, that Perfiles LM keeps its former name’s anti-dumping deposit rate.

The U.S. Department of Commerce ruled on Oct. 26, 2026, that Mexican steel tube maker Perfiles LM should keep its old name’s anti-dumping rate.

Commerce’s International Trade Administration published the finding in the Federal Register as a combined start and preliminary result of a review¹. The review covers the anti-dumping duty order on heavy-walled rectangular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Mexico¹.

In short, the company’s shipments should face the same duty deposit as before the name change. The change only fixes which name the deposit rate is attached to at the U.S. border.

What did Commerce decide about Perfiles LM?

Commerce found, for now, that Perfiles LM, S.A. de C.V. (PLM) is the successor-in-interest to Perfiles y Herrajes LM, S.A. de C.V. (PyH)¹. A successor-in-interest is a company that takes the place of an earlier one and is treated as the same business.

This means PLM should receive the same anti-dumping cash deposit rate as PyH¹. An anti-dumping duty is an extra import tax on goods sold abroad below their normal price. A cash deposit is the money an importer pays at entry to cover that duty.

The finding is preliminary. Commerce has invited interested parties to comment before it issues final results¹.

Why did the Mexican pipe maker ask for a review?

On Aug. 19, 2026, PLM told Commerce it had changed its name from PyH to PLM¹. The name change took effect on July 11, 2017¹. PLM asked Commerce to confirm it was the successor so that its deposits and duty liabilities would be set correctly¹.

The company used a procedure called a changed circumstances review. Commerce runs this kind of review when a party shows that facts have changed enough to look again at an order¹. Commerce has used such reviews in the past after a company changed its name or structure, for example through a merger or a spinoff¹.

The name matters at the border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the border agency, applies duty rates to named producers and exporters. A shipment under a new company name could otherwise be treated as coming from a firm without its own rate.

How did Commerce test the name change?

Commerce did not accept the request at first. On Sept. 3, 2026, it declined to start the review and asked for more information¹. It wanted details on any changes in management, production plants, customers and suppliers¹.

Commerce sent PLM a further questionnaire, and PLM answered on Sept. 21, 2026¹. No other interested party commented on the request¹.

To decide whether one company is the successor of another, Commerce looks at several factors¹:

• Management and ownership: whether the same people own and run the firm.
• Production facilities: whether the goods are made in the same plants.
• Supplier relationships: whether the firm buys from the same suppliers.
• Customer base: whether it sells to the same buyers.

No single factor decides the case. Commerce generally treats the new company as the successor if its operation is not materially different from the old one¹.

What did the evidence show?

Commerce said the request rests only on a change of the company’s name¹. The evidence showed PLM is otherwise the same business as PyH¹.

The name change did not bring significant changes in management, ownership, production, plants, suppliers or customers¹. Commerce also found no sign of significant changes in the company’s operations, ownership or legal structure during the relevant period¹.

Because the record already held enough information, Commerce chose a faster route. Its rules allow it to combine the start of a review and the preliminary results when quick action is justified¹. It did so in this case¹.

Which steel pipes and tubes are covered?

The order covers heavy steel tubes with a rectangular or square cross section, welded from carbon steel. They must have a nominal wall thickness of not less than 4 mm². The goods include, but are not limited to, tubes made to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) A-500, grade B specification, or similar standards².

Covered products must meet three tests of chemistry²:

1. Iron is the largest element by weight.
2. Carbon is 2% or less by weight.
3. No other element goes above set limits, such as 2.50% manganese, 1.50% copper or 2.0% nickel.

The goods normally enter under U.S. tariff code HTSUS 7306.61.1000, and may also enter under 7306.61.3000². HTSUS is the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. The tariff codes are a guide only. The written description of the goods decides what is covered².

How long has the order on Mexican tubes applied?

Commerce first published the anti-dumping order on these tubes from Mexico on Sept. 13, 2016¹. The same notice set duty orders on similar tubes from South Korea and Turkey².

In 2022, Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) completed a five-year review, also called a sunset review². Both found that ending the orders would likely lead to more dumping and harm to U.S. makers². Commerce therefore kept the orders in place from April 1, 2022².

Commerce also reviews the rates each year. In its latest yearly review, published on Sept. 3, 2026, it covered sales from Sept. 1, 2023, to Aug. 31, 2024³.

What duty rate does the PyH name carry?

The latest yearly review set company rates for Mexican makers of these tubes³. PyH was one of five companies not examined one by one in that review³. Those companies received a review rate of 16.84%³.

The review set these weighted-average dumping margins³:

• Forza Steel S.A. de C.V.: 31.23%.
• Productos Laminados de Monterrey, S.A. de C.V. (Prolamsa): 7.45%.
• Companies not examined one by one, including PyH: 16.84%.

The deposit for each company in that review equals its margin from the review³. Producers and exporters with no rate of their own pay the all-others rate of 4.91%, set in the original investigation³.

If the final results confirm today’s finding, PLM’s shipments would carry PyH’s deposit rate. Based on the September review, that is the 16.84% rate for non-examined companies.

Who is affected by the Perfiles LM finding?

The finding mainly affects U.S. importers that buy these tubes from PLM. When the final results are issued, Commerce plans to tell CBP to apply PyH’s deposit rate to entries exported by PLM¹.

Customs brokers who file entries for PLM goods will then match the PLM name to PyH’s rate. The finding does not change the rates of other Mexican producers, such as Forza or Prolamsa.

U.S. buyers of the tubes should see no new duty level from this step. The case concerns only who holds the rate, not how high it is.

When are comments and the final results due?

Commerce shortened the time for written arguments, called case briefs. Interested parties must file them no later than seven days after the notice’s publication on Oct. 26, 2026¹. Rebuttal briefs may be filed up to seven days after the case brief deadline¹.

A party that wants a hearing must ask for one within seven days of publication¹. All filings must reach Commerce’s electronic filing system by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline¹.

Commerce plans to issue final results no later than 270 days after it started the review¹. If all parties agree with the preliminary finding, it may issue them within 45 days¹.

Key points on the Perfiles LM pipe review

The table sums up the preliminary review of the order on Mexican heavy steel tubes.

The next step is the comment deadline, seven days after the Oct. 26, 2026 notice. If no party objects, Commerce may confirm within 45 days that PLM’s tubes enter at PyH’s rate¹.

Sources

1. ↩ Federal Register :: Heavy-Walled Rectangular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From Mexico: Initiation and Expedited Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/26/2026-21790/heavy-walled-rectangular-welded-carbon-steel-pipes-and-tubes-from-mexico-initiation-and-expedited
2. ↩ Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 63 (Friday, April 1, 2022) https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-04-01/html/2022-06929.htm
3. ↩ 2026-18087.pdf https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-18087.pdf