Turkey announces HRC import duties on EU and Korea

The Turkish government will impose anti-dumping duties on hot rolled coil (HRC) imports from the EU and South Korea today, ranging from 7-12.8pc.

Turkey started an investigation into EU and South Korean HRC imports in January 2021, following a petition from the Turkish Iron and Steel association on behalf of producers Habas, Colakoglu, Erdemir and Tosyali, which alleged that injury had been caused to the domestic market following an increase in imports. In 2021, of the 2.7mn t of HRC exported by the EU, nearly 950,000t of this went to Turkey. This was down from 1.2mn t in 2020, and 1.7mn t in 2019.

In March, the government released the results of its anti-dumping investigation, finding a dumping margin for European sellers from 23.3-49.8pc, and for South Korean sellers, between 14.1-18.6pc. Following a consultation period with relevant parties, the government published an official announcement today that duties of 7-12.8pc will apply on EU HRC imports, and duties of 7-8.95pc will apply on South Korean HRC imports. The duties will be applicable immediately, on the cif value.

The original investigation was launched days after the European Commission's decision to impose preliminary duties on Turkish HRC. Then in April, definitive duties were imposed on Turkish HRC at a rate of 4.7-7.3pc. The EC also proposed definitive anti-dumping measures on imports of Turkish hot-dipped galvanised coil in May, after which it was assumed the government would certainly impose duties on European HRC imports. The duties are lower than some anticipated, given the previously released dumping margins.

Turkey is typically the largest export market for EU mills, and they often turn to the country at times of weak domestic demand. In recent years, given continued weakness in the automotive sector, EU mills have regularly sold large cargoes to Turkey substantially below domestic European pricing to try to keep their rolling lines going. Just recently, a large mill sold into Turkey out of France at about €750/t, when domestic prices were supposedly above €900/t.

By Lizzy Lancaster