The decision by the U.S. Commerce Department to issue preliminary anti-dumping duties on imports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from China could have a significant impact on the import market, sources said, though it might still be some time before domestic producers can think about ramping up output.

"This will keep imports from China low in the interim. This will have a dramatic impact on OCTG imports from China," Paul Vivian, principal at Preston Publishing Co. Inc., Ballwin, Mo., said.

The Commerce Department on Thursday issued preliminary anti-dumping duties on Chinese OCTG, proposing a 36.3-percent margin against Tianjin Pipe Group Corp. and 30 other companies that had applied for separate rates, and a 99.14-percent margin on any Chinese producer not on the list. Commerce also proposed a "zero" tariff margin on Jiangsu Changbao Steel Tube Co. Ltd.

Anthony B. Rizzuto Jr., managing director of Dahlman Rose & Co. LLC, New York, said the Commerce duties, once imposed, could effectively keep large quantities of Chinese material from entering the domestic market.

"While imports of OCTG material have already sharply declined, we believe that this decision should help to insulate the domestic market from Chinese material in the future," he wrote in a research note. "Thus, we could foresee a scenario where inventories begin to decline, allowing domestic OCTG prices to firm and eventually trend higher."

However, while the Commerce's...