Turkey Responds to EU and South Korea with Anti-Dumping Measures On HRC
Steel NewsDate: 06-07-2023 by: Ngan Le
The trade tensions continued to be a hot topic when Turkey recently imposed an anti-dumping duty on HRC products from the EU and Korea. This decision is seen as retaliation from Turkey based on the fact that their country's HRC source was previously taxed by Europe.
The overview of imposing anti-dumping HRC
Since January 2021, the Turkish has started an anti-dumping investigation on hot rolled coils imported from the EU and Korea. The investigation was initiated by requirements from the Turkish Steel Association on behalf of domestic steel producers.
Hot rolled coil products in the investigation list have codes including 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, 7208.52.908, 7208.52.908, 7208.52.10, 7208.53.10, 7208.53.90, 7208.54.00, 7211.13.00, 7211.14.00, 7211.19.00, 7212.60.00, 7225.19.10, 7225.30.10, 7225.30.30, 7225.90. .90, 7226.91.20, 7226.91.91 and 7226.91.99
In March 2022, the government announced the results of the investigation after a long time for reviewing. Accordingly, HRC importers from the EU and Korea were found to be selling HRC products at a lower price than the floor price in domestic. The Turkish Ministry of Commerce has calculated that the dumping margin of Korean importers ranges from 14 to 18.6%, especially for European HRC steel importers who have been accused of dumping with a margin of high in the range of 23-49%.
On July 7, 2022, in the face of arguments about unfair competition, the Turkish Ministry of Commerce decided to impose an anti-dumping duty on importers from the EU and Korea. The tax rate will be calculated in the range of 7-18.8% for HRC products from Europe and 7-8.95% for HRC products originating from Korea.
What is the cause of escalating tension?
"What we have been doing is a proper answer for the EU after everything they have done to Turkey in the past four years," the Turkish Steel Association vice president declared.
In addition, he also said that the imposition of the tax would be an essential step to prevent unfair trade between domestic and foreign manufacturers.
Turkey is one of the largest export markets for the EU, and they often look to this country as a solution to eliminating the inventory situation when the demand for steel in the European region is significantly reduced. EU producers have been accused of regularly selling large shipments of steel to Turkish users at lower prices than the prices in Europe, specifically a large factory in France sold steel in Turkey for about €750/ton, while the domestic price is much more expensive with a specific price above €900/tons.
Although the imposition of an anti-dumping tax has the participation of the EU and South Korea, this is actually seen as a response from the Turkish manufacturers to the EU since the case of anti-dumping duties on HRC products from Turkey in January 2021.
Vietnam's Perspective Before Recent Anti-Dumping Lawsuits
As of 2023, Turkey will always be a potential steel export market for Vietnamese suppliers. The trading relationships become significant in the context of steel demand in Turkey increasing sharply to serve the reconstruction of construction structures after the earthquake in January.
Although Turkey has previously initiated an anti-dumping investigation on stainless steel pipes from Vietnam, the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Trade has not yet made a final decision on this matter. It can be seen that commercial cooperation between the two countries has always maintained a stable status based on bilateral interests.
Particularly for HRC products, Vietnam is considered one of the most potent steel manufacturers with annual output of HRC steel reaching more than 8.6 million tons. Thanks to strong production capacity and technological advances, Vietnam has been able to supply and export HRC worldwide. In just 6 months of 2021, Vietnam's HRC export volume has reached 700,000 tons.
