The EU imposes anti-dumping duties on electrical steel imports

The European Union will impose anti-dumping duties on imports from five countries of a grade of electrical steel, according to sources familiar with the European Commission’s proposal.

The commission intends to set tariffs between 21.6% for imports from Russia of electrical steel with oriented grains. Also 35.9% for imports from Japan. As a result of a complaint filed in June 2014 by the European Association of Steel Producers, Eurofer. The duties will also cover imports from China (28.7%), the United States (22%) and Korea (22.8%).

The measures are provisional pending the outcome of an investigation that will end in November. Normally, such fees would then continue for five years.

Electrical steel producers

Electric steel with oriented grains is a very specialized product. And it is used by energy producers and distributors, being produced by only 16 companies worldwide.

European producers are ArcelorMittal, STALPRODUKT, Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp. Among the non-European producers are AK Steel, NLMK (Russia), Posco (Korea), Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp (Japan), Baosteel, Wuhan Iron and Corp Steel (China).

Eurofer states that dumping practices have harmed EU industry, with prices below production costs causing substantial losses.

In March, the commission imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of cold-rolled stainless steel plates from China and Taiwan.

Eurofer stated that, despite a low euro and a slow process of growth in European demand, European producers were still faced with massive imports, especially from Asia and China.

Total steel exports from China rose to an all-time high of 93 million tons in 2014. Being the equivalent of 60 percent of the EU’s total steel consumption.

Seth Rosenfeld, an analyst at Jefferies, said imports of oriented grain electrical steel represented only 1.5% of total EU steel imports in 2014. This makes it a niche product with limited impact on producers’ earnings. steel Europeans.

Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/28/eu-trade-steel-idUSL8N0XP2WL20150428

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