EU introduces duties on rebar from Belarus

The European Union decided to introduce a preliminary anti-dumping duty of 12.5 percent on Belarusian-made reinforcing steel.

The obligations are still preliminary and for the next six months the EU will conduct proceedings, and then decide whether to introduce duties for a long period. The measures concern the Belarusian Metallurgical Plant BMZ, as well as other manufacturers of this range of Belarus.

The proceedings have been ongoing since March, when Eurofer filed a complaint. During the proceedings, it was established that the import of products from Belarus amounted to 488,000 tons with a market share of about 5 percent. Compared to 2012, the volume of these supplies increased by 175 percent, and the market share increased by 3.2 percentage points.

The investigation found that the dumping margin was 58.4 percent. The level of losses is determined at 12.5 percent and the same amount is indicated in the obligations. According to the EU, "due to the increase in unfair competition as a result of imports, goods were dumped, and the EU industry had to reduce prices by an average of 22 percent, which led to a decrease in profits by 1.3 percent."

In June next year, a decision should be made whether the duty will be introduced for a period of up to 5 years.