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(BRUSSELS) – The European Commission on Tuesday prolonged for another five years the existing anti-dumping measures on Chinese imports of seamless pipes and tubes of stainless steel.
The duties, which range from 48.3% to 71.9%, were imposed initially in 2011, in order to provide a level-playing field and a breathing space for EU producers, based among others in France, Spain and Sweden.
A review investigation initiated in December 2016 showed that dumping from China continued, and that, if the measures were to lapse, significant quantities of dumped Chinese exports might be directed to the EU market.
The measures on pipes and tubes used in the chemical and petrochemical industries will then continue at their current level.
This is one of a number if measures taken by the EU intended to defend EU companies and jobs against what the Commission deems unfair practices in the international steel trade.
The steel sector suffers from a global surplus that has driven down steel prices to unsustainable levels in recent years and had a damaging impact on EU producers and related industries.
The EU executive says it is using the full potential of its trade defence toolbox to ensure fair conditions for its producers and their ability to maintain jobs in the sector.
A total of 53 measures are now in place on steel and iron products, and these include 27 on products coming from China. As a long-term solution to the overcapacity problem, the EU however puts emphasis on more far-reaching measures aimed at tackling the root causes of the crisis.
To that purpose, the Commission engages in the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity that agreed last November on an ambitious package of concrete policy solutions to tackle the pressing issue of global overcapacity in the steel sector.
