EU proposes provisional anti-dumping duties on steel coils from three countries

The European Commission (EC) has announced the preliminary findings of its anti-dumping investigation into imports of certain hot rolled coils (HRC) from Egypt, India, Japan and Vietnam, Argus Media reports.

The EC has proposed temporary anti-dumping duties starting April 7 on imports of HRC coils for three countries – Egypt, Japan and Vietnam – in the range of 6.9-33%.

Egypt may face a 15.6% duty, including the producer Ezz Steel Company.

Nippon Steel and all other Japanese companies may be subject to a 33% duty, Daido Steel and JFE Steel Corporation – 32%, and Tokyo Steel will face the lowest duty at 6.9%.

Vietnam’s Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation and all other companies from this country will be subject to a 12.1% duty. Only Hoa Phat may be exempted from them.

At the same time, the preliminary investigation found no dumping of HRC imports from India.

Final measures are expected by October 7.
The products under investigation fall 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.

Last year, Egypt, Japan, and Vietnam exported 2.2 million tons of hot-rolled coils to the EU, which is about 25% of total imports, and India exported 1.2 million tons under its own quota.

The investigation was initiated in August 2024 and covered the period from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024. In October last year, the EC launched a 9-month registration process for imports of hot-rolled steel from four countries, which will allow for retroactive anti-dumping duties if necessary. The procedure came into force on October 26.

As GMK Center reported earlier, safeguard measures are driving up prices for hot-rolled coils worldwide. The cost of these products has increased in most regions since early March. In particular, prices for hot-rolled coils in the Northern European region increased by €4.55 per tonne in the first week of March. Official offers from producers in Germany and Benelux amounted to €640-660/t EXW. The real cost of sales was at €631/t.