Malaysia likely to raise AD duty on Chinese HRC imports

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): The Malaysian government mulls to raise the anti-dumping duties on Hot Rolled Coils (HRC) imported from China. A decision to this effect will be taken after analyzing the effectiveness of the preliminary duties imposed recently. Several external factors are also likely to influence the decision.

The Malaysian International Trade and Industry (MITI) had recently announced provisional anti-dumping duties in the range between 3.15% and 29.37% on HRC imports from China, Indonesia and South Korea. The duty will be levied for a period of 120 days with effect from October 17th.

The decision followed complaint filed by Megasteel Sdn Bhd, alleging that the three countries were involved in flooding the Malaysian market with products at a cheaper rate than domestic prices. The overwhelming cheap imports from these countries, especially China, have materially damaged the domestic HRC industry in the country, it stated.

Incidentally, the total steel products imported from China have surged higher by 75% from 4 million metric tonne in 2009 to 7 million metric tonne in 2013. China accounted for almost one-fourth of all these imports.

The Chinese authorities are expected to announce its final decision on removal of tax rebate on steel products by mid-November. The Malaysian MITI will also monitor the effectiveness of provisional AD duty imposed recently, before forwarding any recommendation to hike the anti-dumping duty. However, MITI stated that appropriate decision will be taken at the right time in order to safeguard the interests of the domestic steel industry.