EU to impose anti-dumping duties on stainless steel imports from China and Taiwan

The European Commission has proposed anti-dumping duties on stainless steel imports from China and Taiwan. The European Association of Steel Manufacturers (Eurofer) argues that the rise in stainless imports from these two countries is damaging domestic industries in the region.

Tariffs will be 25 percent for Chinese stainless products, while imports from Taiwan will have anti-dumping duties at 12 percent. Anti-dumping duties are expected to be announced at the end of the month, and they will be temporary, depending on the results of the investigation, which is expected to close in September.

In addition, the recent fall in the ruble led to an oversupply of stainless steel from Russia, so Eurofer was asked the commission to monitor imports from Russia. Large increases in exports from Asian countries, especially China and Taiwan, have hurt European producers, Eurofer said.

China and Taiwan together shipped $ 680 million worth of cold-rolled stainless steel products to the European Union during 2013, accounting for nearly 17 percent of total imports for the year, according to statistics released by Eurofer. And already in 2014, exports of Chinese stainless steel hit a record level of 93 million tonnes, and accounted for almost 60 percent of total EU steel consumption. Steel exports from China to the EU have more than tripled since 2009.