Anti-dumping duty on steel must be off the table soon

In a letter to the European Commission, Orgalim, the European representative of the metalworking industry, argues that the anti-dumping duty on some steel products should be quickly removed. All European companies deserve to be protected from unfair competition. 

Orgalim already did not believe that anti-dumping duties were the right way to counter this. Suspending the duties, however, has now taken on added urgency. Suspending the duties or, at the very least, further increasing the quotas, is crucial for the competitiveness of the European technology industry.

The levy was instituted in July 2018, but now threatens to backfire. Prices have risen sharply in recent years. This prompted Orgalim to ask the European Commission to examine the necessity of the levy as early as December 2021. 

The Ukraine factor

So at the time, that was independent of the war in Ukraine. That war, however, has made it even more urgent that charges be scrutinized. Prices continue to rise, delivery times increase and the availability of certain materials becomes a major risk. Under normal circumstances, Ukraine and Russia account for 23% of European steel imports. In recent weeks, buying steel has become increasingly difficult. Importing steel from Russia is no longer allowed and several producers in Ukraine have been forced to stop production.

Orgalim is now asking for the suspension, temporary or otherwise, of anti-dumping duties on steel. Koninklijke Metaalunie is a member of Orgalim and calls on the Dutch government to support the submitted request. Metaalunie is not fundamentally opposed to European 'anti-dumping' policy. It is important to keep the European steel market competitive against 'cheap' countries such as China and India.... But last year's extension of the import measures enormously strengthens the negative effects of the current overstrained steel market: even higher rising prices and a huge shortage of steel products. To this is now added the war in Ukraine. The current market conditions are putting strong pressure on recovery and growth of manufacturing companies.

Disproportionate influence

More sales do not mean that everything is going well: material prices have risen dramatically, but perhaps even more annoying is that several metals are simply not available. This leads to major problems in the production chain. Many SME manufacturing companies are under great stress because profitability has come under severe pressure and delivery times are getting longer. The materials problem has a number of causes. Geopolitical tension, disruption of chains due to the pandemic, but also the European anti-dumping policy on steel. Regarding the latter, this government intervention disproportionately affects metal pricing and trade flows.