EU Tariffs On Stainless Steel Fasteners Strengthen Case for Broader Sanctions
FEATURE
Having successfully renewed AD tariffs on stainless steel fasteners from Chinese and Taiwanese producers in recent years, the European Commission is launching an investigation by the end of this month into alleged dumping of stainless steel into the European Union by Chinese and Taiwanese producers, Reuters reports.
“The case could be the first of a number the European steel industry brings in the coming months to counter record exports from the world’s largest steel producer, China,” according to Reuters. “Manufacturers there are boosting output to new highs, despite a domestic slowdown.”
EU imports of cold-rolled stainless steel sheet from China and Taiwan totaled EUR 758 million in 2013 — a 10-fold increase from the value in 2002. EU production in 2012 was worth EUR 23.6 billion, according to Reuters.
Earlier this year the U.S. began probing imports of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from China.
Chinese exports of steel, including stainless, hit 8.07 mln tons in May — the highest ever level and an annual increase of 41.5Y in the year to date, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.
China produced just over half of the world’s stainless steel last year, despite weak demand and pricing trends, according to research by Steel Market Intelligence GmbH.
The EU originally imposed duties in 2007 on stainless steel fasteners from China and Taiwan. The duty rates were up to 23.6% for Taiwan and as high as 27.4% for China.
In 2012 the EU renewed those tariffs for another five years, seeking to aid European producers that include Italian companies Bontempi Vibo SpA and Bulnava Srl, Germany’s Reisser Schraubentechnik GmbH and France’s Ugivis SA.
At the time, the EU let lapse separate antidumping duties on stainless-steel fasteners from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Other countries that export these fasteners to Europe include India, the Philippines and Malaysia, whose combined EU market share was 36% in the 12 months through September 2010 — up from 22.6% in 2007.
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