The provisional duties are set to enter into force on April 7 and be valid for six months, according to the notice on the EU official journal.
The duty rates were slightly lower compared to those in the pre-disclosure document, which was made public on March 14.
For Egypt, the provisional duty rate on material from Ezz Steel and all other companies was set at 12.8%. In the pre-disclosure document, the rate was higher, at 15.6%
The highest duties were proposed for Japanese suppliers: 31.8% for Nippon Steel Corporation and all other companies (33% in pre-disclosure document), 31.1% for JFE Steel Corporation and Daido Steel Co., Ltd (32% in pre-disclosure document).Tokyo Steel received a comparatively low duty of 6.9%, the same as suggested in pre-disclosure document.
For Vietnam, provisional duties were confirmed at 12.1% for Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation and all other companies, with the exception of Hoa Phat Dung Quat Steel Joint Company, which was not subjected to any rates.
No provisional duties were introduced on Indian companies, as was initially suggested in the March pre-disclosure document.
EU HRC prices firm on limited imports
Domestic HRC prices in Europe have been ticking up recently, mainly supported by limited availability of imports amid safeguards amendments and anti-dumping cases.
Sources, however, were worried that the current uptrend was only short-lived due to lack of real demand.
“European mills are well-booked for the second quarter and import availability is limited due to safeguards and anti-dumping measures. It’s a sellers’ market now, so prices are likely to keep ticking up,” a distributor in Northern Europe said.
Sources were worried about the long-term outlook, given the still-weak demand from key steel-using sectors and possible deterioration in demand from the already-struggling automotive sector, which is being affected by US tariffs.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €652.00 per tonne on Monday April 7, up by €0.17 per tonne from €651.83 per tonne on Friday April 4.
The Northern European index was up by €5.75 per tonne week on week and by €20.62 per tonne month on month.
