BEIJING: The National Tariff Commission (NTC) on Wednesday imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on imports of galvanised steel coils and sheets in the range of six to 41 per cent. The duty on Chinese exporter Angang Steel Company is 40.47pc, followed by 31.31pc on Hebei Iron and Steel Co. Ltd., 9.13pc on Bengang Steel Plates Co. Ltd., 6.09pc on Maanshan Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. The rate on all other producers and exporters from China is also 40.47pc.
However, the duty would not be levied on imports from sources other than China, imports used as inputs in products destined solely for exports and on imports that are covered under any scheme exempting customs duty for exports under the Customs Act of 1969. According to a notice of International Steels Limited (ISL) sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the NTC has established that the domestic industry suffered “material injury” due to increase in the volume of dumped imports, price undercutting, price depression, decline in market share, sales, capacity utilisation, return on investment, negative effect on cash flow and increase in inventories.
On the request of domestic producers of galvanised steel coils and sheets, the NTC initiated an investigation on Aug 11, 2015 against dumping of galvanised steel coils and sheets from China into Pakistan and its impact on the domestic industry. According to Topline Securities, ISL’s current capacity to produce galvanised coil stands at 400,000 tonnes while its total rerolling capacity currently is 550,000 tonnes. During July-December 2016, the company produced 158,000 tonnes of galvanised coils and 80,000 tonnes of cold rolled coils. The company expects total volumes to pass 500,000 tonnes during this fiscal year ending June 30. In a notice on Jan 19, the commission said it has imposed definitive anti-dumping duties in the range of 13.17pc to 19.04pc after completing anti-dumping investigations against dumping of cold rolled coils originating from China and Ukraine. ISL said last week it intended to increase its cold rolling capacity to one million tonnes a year by addition of a cold rolling mill, a pickling line and related facilities.
