EU to impose anti-dumping duties on stainless steel imports from China and Taiwan

BRUSSELS (Scrap Monster): According to official sources, the European Commission has proposed imposition of anti-dumping duties on imports of stainless steel from China and Taiwan. This follows a complaint lodged by the European Steel Producers Association (Eurofer) alleging that the rising imports of stainless steel products from these two countries cause harm to the domestic industry in the region. The tariffs will be as high as 25% for Chinese products, whereas the imports from Taiwan are likely to face anti-dumping duties of up to 12%.

The proposal by the European Commission will be presented before the EU member states next week. The announcement of anti-dumping duties is expected by month-end, which will be provisional subject to the outcome of investigation which is due in September. An investigation into alleged subsidies for Chinese producers is also due to come to an end in September this year.

According to statistics released by Eurofer, the two countries together shipped cold-rolled stainless steel products worth $680 million into the European Union during 2013. This constituted almost 17% of the total imports by the region during the year. The Chinese steel exports touched record high of 93 million tonnes in 2014, accounting for almost 60% of the total EU steel consumption. The steel exports from China to EU more than tripled from 1.2 million tonnes in 2009 to over 4.5 million tonnes in 2014.

The massive increase in exports from Asian countries, especially China and Taiwan has caused significant damage to European producers. Also, the recent fall in Ruble has led to excessive shipment of stainless steel from Russia. Furthermore, Eurofer has requested the Commission to monitor the imports from Russia closely.