The UK government has agreed with the TRA's recommendation on heavy plate steel imports from China
Steel NewsDate: 13-10-2023 by: Ngoc Cam
On June 28, 2023, the UK continued to maintain anti-dumping measures on heavy plate steel imported from China. This decision was made after the government considered recommendations from the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) that the domestic steel industry would suffer significant damage if previous trade remedies measures were lifted.
1. EU: Imposing definitive anti-dumping duty on non-alloy steel plate or other alloy steel imported from China
On February 13, 2016, the European Commission initiated an anti-dumping investigation on steel products imported from China, specifically goods of flat products of non-alloy or other steel (excluding stainless steel, silicon-electrical steel, tool steel and high-speed steel), hot-rolled, not clad, plated or coated, not in coils.
Products with thickness and width specified under Notice No. 2016/C 58/09, classified under the following HS codes: ex. 7208.51.20, 7208.51.91, 7208.51.98, 7208.52.91, 7208.90.20, 7208.90.80, 7225.40.40, 7225.40.60 and 7225.99.00.
On August 11, 2016, the European Commission required that goods from China be registered with Customs for a period of nine months. As of August 11, 2016, the EC has imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty at a rate of duty is between 65.1% and 73.7% of the net-free-at-Union-frontier price depending on the company. The trade remedy measure on the above products imported from China is subject to Commission Implementation Regulation No. 2016/1888, was in force for a period of 6 months.
Following the conclusions of the damage caused by China's cheap supply of heavy plate steel, the European Commission imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on the goods under investigation group. The amount of duty is between 65.1% and 73.7% of the net-free-at-Union-frontier price before duty depending on the company, in effective until February 28, 2022.
However, in the face of recommendations from stakeholders and market fluctuations, on September 3, 2019, the EC issued Commission Implementation Regulation 2019/1382 regulating the definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of non-alloyed or alloyed steel plates from China if the safeguard duty is also levied on the same good. Accordingly, the definitive anti-dumping duty is adjusted in the range of 40.1 - 48.7% in case when the product is also subject to a 25% safeguard duty out of quota.
According to the EU Withdrawal Agreement, from January 1, 2021, the UK is no longer a member of the EU and the application of safeguard measures on steel products is carried out independently between the EU and the UK. After this event, both the UK and the EU conducted a review and updated the trade protectionsm being applied. Therefore, on February 25, 2022, the European Commission announced the intitation of a sunset review of the definitive duty imposed on steel products from China.
2. UK: extends anti-dumping duty on heavy plate steel imported from China
Heavy plate steel is one of the main materials for the production of construction equipment, oil and gas pipelines, shipbuilding, bridges and buildings. The construction and machinery manufacturing sectors account for over 70% of the UK's heavy plate steel consumption. Today, Spartan UK Ltd and Liberty Steel Dalzell Ltd are the UK's two largest producers of heavy plate steel, contributing £10-20 million to the UK economy each year.
Therefore, when realizing that the source of cheap steel imported from China has seriously threatened business activities and profits, manufacturers have filed a complaint with the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA). The TRA investigation found that failure to impose strict safeguards on imported goods would have caused damage to British industry, with the risk of shutting down steel mills in North Lincolnshire and North Lanarkshire.
On June 28, 2023, the UK government made the conclusion that the anti-dumping measures for heavy plate steel imported from China would remain in effect for 5 years.
3. Prospects of Vietnam's steel imports to the UK 2023
For Vietnam, the UK is currently the 13th largest important trading partner among countries and territories in the world, ranking 5th among European and American countries and territories. According to data of Vietnam Customs, in the first 11 months of 2021, Vietnam's total export turnover to the UK reached $5.24 billion, leading the growth rate was iron and steel products with an increase of 1269%, followed by products from iron and steel increased by 91.1%.
The outstanding growth of iron and steel products by the recovery of industries in Europe after the pandemic. On the other hand, Vietnam's steel production output has improved in both quality and quantity. In 2021, Vietnam's crude steel output reached 23 million tons, finished steel products reached 33 million tons, the amount of steel exported to the UK increased by 708%, reaching 418,903 tons with an average price of 1172.7 USD/ton, increased by 69.5% over the same period last year.
On March 13, 2023, Vietnam had the opportunity to welcome the UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to discuss bilateral investment and trade between Vietnam and the UK 2023. At the meeting, the two sides agreed on solutions to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation, effectively implementing the UKVFTA and CPTPP Agreements. Through this event, the British government also continued to increase support and create favorable conditions to promote import and export activities between Vietnam and the UK. Therefore, most of Vietnam's steel products exported to the UK have grown well thanks to duty incentives.
The UK government's move to extend anti-dumping duties on heavy plate steel imported from China may cause a supply chain shortage for domestic production. Finding alternative steel exporters is a solution that businesses can consider. Any demand for quotation and import of cheap and quality steel from Vietnam, please contact MRS Steel via Whatsapp: +84 76 911 2358 for the best support.
