| Subject: |
Steel makers against import curbs by EU |
|
The European Commission (EC), the executive body of European Union, which is expected to open anti-subsidy and anti-dumping investigations against imports of stainless steel cold finished (bright) bars from India is treading on thin ground, say Indian steel makers.
“We have heard of it, but there can be no substantial complaint because Indian steel imports are as it is small,” steel secretary Atul Chaturvedi, told Financial Chronicle. Asked how would the Indian steel industry react to it, Chaturvedi said they had not received the complaint formally, but they were prepared once they hear from the EU officially.
The complaint was filed by Eurofer, the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries which represents all EU steel producers with a combined output of 200 million tonnes, against imports from India in general. The companies identified were Bhansali Bright Bars, Venus Wire Industries, Chandan Steel, Viraj Group, Raajratna Metal Industries, Nevatia Steel & Alloys, Facor Group, Mukand, Garg Inox, Panchmahal Steel, Isibars and Shah Alloys.
Jean-Louis Moray, director, speciality steels, Eurofer ASBL, told reporters that the EC was expected to notify the investigations in its official journal this week. According to Eurofer, imports from India increased from 14,800 tonnes in 2005 to 32,000 tonnes in 2008. Despite the economic slump, imports were at 19,000 tonnes in 2009. According to Moray, the ``complaint is based on market share lost and, more crucially, severe price undercutting and high dumping margins.”
Indian steel producers, however, see no merit in the EU case. ``I have not studied the case, but prima facie, it looks untenable because India's steel export is small,'' says Jayant Acharya, marketing director, JSW Steel. Concurs JK Arora, managing director of Supreme Alloys, who questions ``if this was the case, what was being done at successive meetings of the World Steel Organisation, where this issue should have come up?''
Stainless steel bright bars are capable of withstanding temperature fluctuations and therefore have a great demand in electronics, thermal power stations and the machinery making industry. They are also used in construction of buildings, roads and bridges.
This turf war is by no means new. In 2009, India’s Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties, under the commerce ministry, recommended a tariff on stainless steel imports into India from China, the EU and six other countries, based on a complaint filed by a domestic stainless steel producer.
Source : mydigitalfc.com
|