An expiry review was started in February 2023, which concluded that injurious dumping would resume if measures were allowed to lapse, Fastmarkets understands.
The main export destinations for Chinese HDG were Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia, Israel, Chile, Peru and Japan, according to data from the Global Trade Atlas (GTA).
The average export price for Chinese HDG was 15% lower than the price prevailing on the EU market during the review investigation period (February 2023-March 2024).
On top of that, shipping costs from China to Europe decreased significantly during the investigation period, the Commission said.
“If the measures were to expire and the prices at which the Chinese exporting producers would export the product concerned to the [European] Union were in line with the export price to third countries observed during the review, the level of dumping would be significant,” the Commission said.
The decision to maintain the AD duty in the range of 17.2-27.9% — depending on the supplier — for another five years was announced in the Official Journal of the EU on Monday and will come into effect on Tuesday March 12.
Renewing these measures on HDG imports from China was necessary to continue to ensure fair competition between imported and EU-produced HDG, Fastmarkets understands.
Market brief
European HDG prices have been falling since the beginning of February amid weak end-user demand.
“Lack of demand remains the key issue,” a buyer in Italy said. “Prices are sinking lower, but nobody’s buying because there is a perception that rock bottom has yet to be reached.”
“Most buyers have sufficient stocks and in fact are trying to lower their inventories,” a trading source in Europe said.
“My impression is that, due to low activity in the construction market and the threatening downturn in the automotive sector, nothing spectacular will happen,” the trading source added. “Besides, high interest rates don’t stimulate investments.”
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil domestic, exw Northern Europe was €820-830 per tonne on March 6, down by €10-20 per tonne from €830-850 per tonne a week earlier.
