UK suspends Iran, Russia HR flats anti-dumping duties
The UK has partially or completely suspended anti-dumping duties on flat steel from Iran and Russia in the case the product concerned is subjected to safeguard duty, once the applicable import quota has been surpassed, says the UK Trade Remedies Authority.
The trade remedies notice published on 2 August is effective immediately, Kallanish notes.
The anti-dumping duty on the steel goods will be charged only until the relevant import quota is exceeded. After that point, only the portion of the anti-dumping duty exceeding the safeguard duty along with the safeguard duty itself will be charged.
The hot-rolled flat iron, non-alloy, or other alloy steel goods subject to both anti-dumping and safeguard duty are usually imported into the UK under the following UK global tariff (UKGT) commodity codes: 72 08 10 00 00, 72 08 25 00 00, 72 08 26 00 00, 72 08 27 00 00, 72 08 36 00 00, 72 08 37 00 10, 72 08 37 00 90, 72 08 38 00 10, 72 08 38 00 90, 72 08 39 00 10, 72 08 39 00 90, 72 08 40 00 10, 72 08 40 00 90, 72 08 52 10 00, 72 08 52 99 00, 72 08 53 10 00, 72 08 53 90 00, 72 08 54 00 00, 72 11 13 00 11, 72 11 13 00 19, 72 11 14 00 10, 72 11 14 00 91, 72 11 14 00 95, 72 11 19 00 10, 72 11 19 00 91, 72 11 19 00 95, 72 25 19 10 90, 72 25 30 90 00, 72 25 40 90 00, 72 26 19 10 91, 72 26 19 10 95, 72 26 91 91 11, 72 26 91 91 19 and 72 26 91 99 00.
The new specific anti-dumping duty rates payable on hot-rolled steel originating in Iran or Russia vary upon exporter and origin.
In case of Iranian exporters, Mobarakeh Steel Company and others, there will be no anti-dumping duty after the suspension.
For Russian exporters, namely for NLMK and Severstal, there will be no anti-dumping duty after suspension, while for Magnitogorsk Iron Steel Works (MMK) and other Russian producers there will be an anti-dumping duty of £19.57/tonne ($24.90), or 8%. Before the suspension, Iranian exporters were levied with £48.12/t (17.9%).
For Russian exporters, the anti-dumping duty before suspension is £44.61 (15%) for NLMK, £14.73 (5.3%) for Severstal and £80.76 (33%) for MMK and others.
The public notice does not cover HR flat steel originating from Brazil or Ukraine, as it is excluded from the safeguard duty.
Elina Virchenko UAE
Klöckner pushes ‘transformation’ towards processing in Europe
Klöckner & Co is accelerating its expansion into higher value-added services in Europe, a campaign which it calls a “transformation” of its distribution business.
On the occasion of the announcement of its half-year-results, chief executive Guido Kerkhoff told of several investments into processing, mainly at the company’s German sites.
He emphasised Klöckner’s ambition to “transform commodity warehouses into HVAB [higher value-added business] powerhouses.” The transformation is to a large extent linked with the expansion of laser capabilities. At the company’s headquarters in Duisburg, it will establish a second laser centre with three tube lasers that will complement’s Klöckner’s laser centre in nearby Velten.
Elsewhere, in Kassel, it will invest into a flat-bed laser that will facilitate its entry into the market segment for plate with specific thicknesses. In Bremen, northern Germany, it is about to put into operation an automated vision-guided deburring robot for post plasma-cutting processing. Klöckner claims this facility is unique in Europe and gives it a leadership role for such services.
The company is also pushing investment into downstream services in its other main market, North America (see Kallanish 3 August). In its European market, such ambitions are even more essential, as the company sees little perspective for acquisitions or greenfield sites, unlike in North America.
Christian Koehl Germany
French rebar buyers remain on fence
French rebar activity continues to be sluggish, with no market visibility. Prices are however stable, with sources indicating a slight, €10/tonne ($11) hike compared to mid-July.
The market is now on holiday, and very little is forecast to happen until the end of August. However, stocks at distributors and their clients are low, with distributors reporting empty order books. Sales are taking place from day to day, with no longer-term prospects. Customers and construction companies will adopt a wait-and-see attitude in September and will continue to buy only to cover immediate needs each day.
One seller says he has no orders for September and revenue in July was accumulated from day-to-day sales. Despite the difficulty of working without plans and visibility, and there being limited restocking, the month of July was considered “acceptable”, Kallanish notes.
Some orders for infrastructure projects improved producers’ sales in July but the remaining orders were for small volumes. Domestic rebar prices are hovering at €590-620/t delivered including size extras, depending on tonnage, sources suggest.
Natalia Capra France
Trading ‘dead’ in Southern European long steel market amid summer closures
Closures, typical at this time of year, will last from August to early-mid September.
Fastmarkets price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Italy was €660-675 ($724-740) per tonne on Wednesday, stable week on week.
Trading in Italy was expected to remain subdued till mills reopen in September, sources said.
As a result, prices were expected to remain flat across long steel markets in Southern Europe, and demand expected to remain subdued.
“The situation is unchanged from last week as mills are absent from the market because of summer holidays,” a producer source said.
“Demand is low as everyone is away for summer holidays,” a trader source said.
“The market is flat. Some of the producers have already stopped the production and the others don’t put pressure on sales,” a buyer source said.
Meanwhile, prices in the Spanish rebar market remained stable.
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, delivered Spain was €640-650 per tonne, unchanged week on week.
Demand and trading remained slow in the Spanish market as a result of seasonal closures.
Southern European wire rod
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality) domestic, delivered Southern Europe was €580-600 per tonne on Wednesday, stable week on week.
The Southern European wire rod market remained flat.
“Mills targeted price increases at the beginning of July, but these have not really had any effect or been accepted by the market,” a buyer source said.
“In September, mills may increase prices, but we will wait and see,” he added.
