Eurofer applauds anti-dumping duties on stainless steel imports

The European Commission (EC) has in late August 2015 published definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled flat products (SSCR) originating in China and Taiwan (Regulation 2015/1429).

The European steel industry EUROFER, based in Brussels, lauded the measure as an important move given the long term implications of the dumping of these products on the European Union market.

EUROFER says the EC regulation largely confirms existing provisional measures and imposes definitive anti-dumping duty rates of up to 25.3 percent on SSCR imports from China, and up to 6.8 percent on imports from Taiwan. The investigation leading up to these measures was initiated in June 2014 following a complaint submitted by EUROFER.

The EC investigation confirmed that dumped imports from China and Taiwan increased massively from 2010 to 2013, EUROFER says. Official data revealed that imports from China more than doubled in 2014 compared with the investigation period. Imports from the two countries undercut EU producers’ sale prices by more than 10 percent, while the injury margin was higher, exceeding 20 percent, according to EUROFER.

Speaking after the publication of the definitive anti-dumping duties regulation, EUROFER Director General Axel Eggert said, “China and Taiwan have a structural overcapacity problem, and have been using the openness of the EU market to shed their excess production. This dumping has seriously undermined the profitability of the European stainless steel industry, and has ensured that European producers have not faced a level playing field for their products.”

Eggert said the remedial duties are crucial if the stainless steel industry is to recover from the effects of Chinese and Taiwanese dumping. “The industry’s economic sustainability is vital to achieving the EU’s goal of ensuring jobs, growth and investment in Europe,” Eggefrt added.

In a statement issued by the association, EUROFER also has urged the Commission to remain vigilant regarding attempts by Chinese and Taiwanese exporters to circumvent the measures.