EU has started the process of registering imports of hot-rolled steel from four countries

The European Commission has announced that it has started the process of registering imports of hot-rolled steel from Egypt, India, Japan and Vietnam, which are the subjects of ongoing anti-dumping investigations. This is reported in the EU’s Official Journal.

The import registration, which expires in nine months, will allow for retroactive collection of anti-dumping duties if necessary. The procedure came into force on October 26.

“The conditions for the retroactive imposition of duties will be assessed in the regulatory act imposing the final duties, if any,” the EC document says.

The investigation was launched in August this year following a complaint filed by the European Steel Association (EUROFER) on June 24 on behalf of the producers.

The EC noted that the dumping margin for imports in the full year 2023, according to the complaint, is 30-40% from Egypt, 10-20% from Japan, about 10% from India and 5-15% from Vietnam. The average level of remediation is 26%, 29.3%, 27.3% and 34.7%, respectively.

The rate of the future duty is usually set at the lower of these two levels. However, if the investigation reveals evidence of raw material distortion, the possible future liability will be set at the level of the dumping margin if the European Commission concludes that a duty below the dumping margin would not be sufficient to eliminate the injury suffered by the EU industry.

Products subject to anti-dumping investigations are classified under the following customs codes: 7208 10 00, 7208 25 00, 7208 26 00, 7208 27 00, 7208 36 00, 7208 37 00, 7208 38 00, 7208 39 00, 7208 40 00, 7208 52 10, 7208 52 99, 7208 53 10, 7208 53 90, 7208 54 00, 7211 13 00, 7211 14 00, 7211 19 00, ex 7225 19 10, 7225 30 90, ex 7225 40 60, 7225 40 90, ex 7226 19 10, 7226 91 91, and 7226 91 99.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the potential introduction of retroactive anti-dumping duties on imports of hot rolled coils to the EU could affect trade earlier than expected and affect more than half of HRC imports to the bloc.