The Italian steel distribution Association Assofermet has expressed concern about the European Commission's initiation of an anti-dumping investigation into imports of cold-rolled coils (CRC), claiming insufficient product quality in the domestic market and insufficient supplies of the products under investigation.
Assofermet "expresses strong disappointment and concern" at the launch of an investigation by the European Commission last week, citing "higher quality standards" associated with the relevant manufacturers; reliance on targeted CRC imports; and existing overlaps with other trade instruments such as existing safeguards and expected restrictions. the effects of the financial phase of the Carbon Boundary Regulation Mechanism (CBAM), which comes into force in January.
The Association condemns what it considers to be the progressively expanding, burdensome and complex nature of the European steel trade protection system, stating that this exacerbates restrictions on European producers' access to international steel trade. raw materials "significantly reduce the competitiveness of the Union's manufacturing industry in international markets, having a structurally negative impact on both the economy and employment."
Assofermet calls on the European Commission to conduct a "more balanced assessment" of the EU steel trade protection system and its environmental impact. "Stability of industrial supply chains" and, at a minimum, exemption of existing import flows arriving by the end of 2025 from any retroactive duties.
The anti-dumping investigation covers CRC imports from India, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam and Taiwan, China, and was initiated by plaintiff Eurofer on behalf of European steel producers. Eurofer provided evidence that CRC imports had increased both in absolute volume and market share, which it said had harmed the EU's domestic industry. As part of its complaint, Eurofer pointed to the relevant export control measures applied to raw materials used in CRC production processes that are not accounted for in international export prices, indicating market distortion.
European manufacturers have chosen to focus on producing steel products other than CRC due to low internal profitability, which suggests, as McCloskey learned from conversations with market participants, the Commission's investigation has led manufacturers to instead choose to recycle high-value-added hot-dip galvanized steel (HDG) directly from their range of hot-rolled coils (HRC). Such a decrease
