There is a “heavily decreased threat of injury to UK rebar producers after China cancelled VAT rebates for most exports, the China Iron and Steel Association said in a submission to the Trade Remedies Authority’s transition review into EU measures on high-fatigue rebar.
TRA initiated its review on 29 April and will publish a statement of essential facts on 17 December, before announcing a preliminary decision on 11 March 2022.
The EU imposed definitive duties of 18.4-22.5pc on Chinese high-fatigue rebar in July 2016, primarily because of high shipments to the UK. At that time China accounted for over 40pc of the UK rebar market, as independent fabricators sought a competitive Cares-approved supply source aside from domestic producer Celsa, which owns around half the downstream fabrication market by volume.
The measures lapsed quietly on 29 July, perhaps as European producers realised there was little threat from Chinese material with the UK no longer part of the single market.
CISA said the continuation of existing EU measures would be “unlawful” as the UK has not conducted a domestic investigation into the effect of Chinese imports on domestic prices and mill volumes.
“The UK is currently applying trade defence instruments, the permissibility of which were assessed by investigating imports’ impact on the EU, not the UK domestic industry and market,” CISA said. It may be easy for UK Steel to counter this view, as most Chinese rebar sold into the EU was destined for the UK market — the UK imported 372,659t of Chinese rebar in 2015, representing more than 68pc of the total 532,919t imported in that year. China only sold 78,009t into the EU 27 in 2015, with over 32,000t destined for Germany.
CISA also said UK producers already have significant protection through the steel safeguard, which does limit the amount of sustainable Cares-approved material that can be brought into the market. Independent fabricators suggest the quota levels are based on historical volumes and do not factor in demand growth caused by the HS2 high-speed rail project.
“It is crucial for them [independent fabricators] to rely on a diversified and price-competitive supply of rebar products,” CISA said. Independent fabricators have struggled to buy sufficient tonnes from major domestic mill Celsa in tighter markets and have recently been trading with each other to fill stock gaps. Liberty also produces rebar at its Thrybergh mill in Yorkshire, but it only produces a small volume in limited sizes.
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