Russian and Chinese makers of non-stainless steel face EU tariffs as high as 26.2 percent after it found that imports from the two nations unfairly undercut producers in Europe, such as ArcelorMittal and ThyssenKrupp AG.
The duties punish Russian and Chinese exporters of certain cold-rolled flat products of iron or non-alloy steel for allegedly selling the goods in the EU’s 4.5 billion euro (US$5.1 billion) market below cost price, a practice known as dumping.
The targeted producers of the steel — used in everything from air-conditioning equipment and washing machines to cars and power lines — include Russia’s Novolipetsk Steel OJSC, Severstal PJSC and Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works OJSC, along with China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Co (寶鋼), Hebei Iron & Steel Co (河北鋼鐵集團) and Angang Steel Co (鞍鋼).
EU-based manufacturers suffered “material injury” as a result of dumped imports from Russia and China, the European Commission — the 28-nation bloc’s trade authority in Brussels — said yesterday in the Official Journal.
The anti-dumping duties take effect today, are for six months and could be prolonged for five years.
The EU is waging a campaign to ease import competition for a European steel industry struggling with sluggish domestic demand and Chinese overcapacity.
While China is the main target with European anti-dumping protection already in force on Chinese goods ranging from stainless steel and reinforcing steel to wire rods and steel wires, the bloc has also hit Russia and other nations with duties on electrical steel.
Russian and Chinese exporters expanded their combined share of the EU market for certain cold-rolled flat products of iron or non-alloy steel, excluding stainless steel, to 20.1 percent in the 12 months through March last year from 14.3 percent in 2011, the commission said yesterday.
Russia’s share jumped to 9.8 percent from 5.9 percent over the period, the commission said.
The anti-dumping duties are the preliminary outcome of an inquiry that the commission opened in May last year. The probe stemmed from a dumping complaint by European steel industry group Eurofer on behalf of producers that account for more than a quarter of the EU’s output of the non-stainless steels targeted.
The provisional duties against Russia range from 19.8 percent to 26.2 percent, while those against China range from 13.8 percent to 16 percent, depending on the company.
Among Russian exporters, Novolipetsk Steel faces the maximum rate, Severstal is subject to a 25.4 percent levy and Magnitogorsk has a 19.8 percent duty.
Among Chinese exporters, Baoshan Iron & Steel and Hebei Iron & Steel each face a 14.5 percent rate, while Angang Steel is subject to a 13.8 percent duty.
In December last year, the commission ordered customs officials to register imports of Chinese and Russian non-stainless steels covered by the dumping probe. The step was meant to allow the bloc to impose duties retroactively from that time should the inquiry conclude levies were justified.
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