EU introduces additional duties on steel from China

The European Union has imposed temporary additional duties on steel products from China, this time for corrosion-resistant steel. The duty rate is 28.5 percent.

This is another European Commission decision on subsidized Chinese steel that has flooded the European market. In May, the EU imposed duties on Chinese-made seamless pipes that were sold to Europe at dumping prices. Chinese exports of these products were burdened with duties ranging from 29.2 percent to 54.9 percent.

In early May, representatives from EU member states agreed on a new methodology to help the “28” countries better deal with dumping. The European Commission's draft refers to a dumping margin calculation method that will apply to all countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The EU proposal was connected with the expiration in mid-December 2016 of a part of the Protocol on China's accession to the WTO, which meant the need to recognize the country's market economy. Thus, it is theoretically unprofitable for the EU and other WTO members to use the mechanism for calculating antidumping duties against Beijing.

According to WTO rules, the EU can impose anti-dumping duties if an earlier study shows that, in fact, products appeared on the market at a discount to the detriment of the Union's industry.

In the standard procedure, the reset is calculated by comparing the export price of a product imported into the EU with the domestic prices and production costs of the product in the exporting country. This is not the case for China, which was not viewed as a market economy because it lowers the cost of production through government intervention.