Duties on wire rod did not stop imports from Moldova

Anti-dumping duties imposed early last year on wire rod from Belarus and Moldova did not affect the volume of imports. In 2020, Ukraine’s imports of non-alloy wire rod (code 7213) alone increased by 16.5% to 41.1 thousand tons from Moldova and by 63% to 5.9 thousand tons from Belarus against 2019.

According to the customs statistics, imports of wire rod (codes 7213 and 7227) to Ukraine in 2020 grew by 20.3% to 72.6 thousand tons in physical terms and by 10.4% to $34.4 million in monetary terms. Last year, the share of wire rod in the general structure of imports of metal products was 4.9% (in physical terms).

The largest exporters of non-alloy wire rod (code 7213) to Ukraine were:

• Moldova — $20.1 million (+10.4% against 2019),
• Russia — $7 million (-9.6%),
• Belarus – $2.7 million (+48.4%).

Exports of wire rod (codes 7213, 7227) from Ukraine in 2020 shrank by 3.3% to 673.5 thousand tons in physical terms and by 17.3% to $284.2 million in monetary terms. The share of wire rod in the general structure of exports of metal products was 3.6% (in physical terms).

The largest importers of Ukraine-made non-alloy wire rod (code 7213) were:

• Ghana — $33.4 million (+15.8% against 2019),
• Romania — $31.4 million (+7.9%),
• Cote d’Ivoire — $28.9 million (+23.3%).

As GMK Center reported earlier, in early December 2019, Ukraine imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of bars (rebar and wire rod) from Belarus and Moldova for a 5-year period. These safeguards entered into force in early 2020. The duty on bars made by Moldova Steel Works (MMZ) amounted to 13.8%. A zero anti-dumping duty was imposed for Byelorussian Steel Works (BMZ).

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih insisted on revising a decision on the duty rate applicable to Byelorussian Steel Works’ products, and the duty was revised in late 2020.

In late 2020, Ukraine imposed a special duty on imports of rebar and wire rod from Belarus in the amount of 16.08% of the customs value. In the future, this should result in a decrease in imports of these metal products from Belarus.