Steel factory – Photo by Shymaa Rabea
(BRUSSELS) – The EU Commission imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of heavy steel plates from China Tuesday, the latest in an unprecedented number of trade defence measures against unfair steel imports.
The Commission says its investigation found Chinese companies to be heavily dumping their products on the EU market, with dumping margins of between 120% and 127%.
This unfair competition is causing material injury to the EU producers, says the EU executive. Most of the injury indicators clearly show a negative trend, in particular profitability and return on investments.
The announcement states that Chinese exports of heavy steel plates will be taxed with anti-dumping duties ranging from 65% to 73%.
The duties are the same as those imposed provisionally in October and are, says the EU, at the level of the injury margin, based on the lesser duty rule.
The Commission is responding forcefully and quickly to what is seen as unfair competition, while at the same time ensuring that the rights of all interested parties have been protected.
The definitive measures announced are aimed at helping to protect EU steel producers from the damaging effects of Chinese dumping.
The Commission opened its investigation in February 2016. In line with the EU’s ‘Steel Communication’ of March 2016, the Commission has imposed both provisional and definitive measures well ahead of the usual legal deadlines.
The EU no has an unprecedented number of trade defence measures in place targeting unfair imports of steel products, with a total of 41 anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures, 18 of which are on products coming from China.
