Turkey imposes duties on HRC imports from EU, South Korea

Turkey’s trade ministry has imposed antidumping duties on hot-rolled coil imports from the EU and South Korea after a year-long investigation, according to a presidential decree published July 7.

Acciaierie d’Italia S.P.A and all ArcelorMittal mills in the EU will be subject to a duty of 10.9%; Tata Steel Ijmuiden, 7%; Liberty Galati S.A., Liberty Ostrava, ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe and ThyssenKrupp Hohenlimburg, 8.95%, and all other EU producers 12.8%, according to the decree seen by S&P Global Commodity Insights.

South Korean producers POSCO and Hyundai Steel will be subject to a 7% duty and other South Korean producers 8.95%.

The duties were imposed with immediate effect July 7.

Turkey’s antidumping investigation was launched two days after the EU imposed provisional antidumping duties of 4.8%-7.6% on imports of HRC from Turkey at the start of 2021, which remain in force.

“It is determined that EU and South Korean hot-rolled coil producers sold their products to Turkey with dumped prices in the investigation period, and these imports caused damage in the domestic industry’s production,” the ministry said in the decree.

The duty rates announced by the trade ministry July 7 were lower than the duties announced in the preliminary report published March 11, S&P Global observed.

Ugur Dalbeler, vice president of the Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association and CEO of major steelmaker Colakoglu, told S&P Global July 7 that the dumping margins in the report did not reflect real dumping in the market, but were an important step to prevent unfair trade.

“It is also a message that Turkey will not allow the countries who are continuing unfair trade persistently,” Dalbeler added.

The duty decision is expected to support domestic HRC prices in the Turkish market, a service center manager said July 7, adding that some upward price movement in Turkish flat steel pricing had already begun and could be accelerated after the week-long Eid holiday in Turkey that begins July 8.

Turkish HRC prices, which exceeded $1,200/mt in mid-March due to the collapse of the supply chain from the Commonwealth of Independent States amid the war in Ukraine, have eased gradually since mid-April due to slow demand and low-priced import offers.

Turkish domestic HRC was assessed at $710/mt EXW July 1, down around $500/mt since mid-March, S&P Global data showed.

Although Turkish buyers imported 5.6 million mt of HRC in 2021, 1.5 million mt more than in 2020, imports from traditional main supplier the EU region fell over the same period, Turkish Statistical Institute data showed.

HRC imports from France fell 130,000 mt year on year to 315,000 mt in 2021, from Romania fell 28% over the same period to 157,700 mt, and from the Netherlands plunged to 23,500 mt from 155,000 mt.

Turkish mills’ HRC exports from South Korea in 2021 were also down 20% year on year at 225,000 mt, the data showed.

The affected products fall under CN codes 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, 7208.52.10, 7208.52.99, 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, 7225.30.90, 7225.40.15, 7225.40.90, 7226.91.20, 7226.91.91 and 7226.91.99.

— Cenk Can