EC 'must show practicality' of new anti-dumping methodology, Eurofer says
European steel association Eurofer expects the European Commission (EC) to demonstrate the usefulness and practicality of its new anti-dumping methodology, the industry body said on Tuesday October 3.
Negotiators for the European Parliament and the trading bloc’s Council reached an agreement on October 3 on a proposal that was adopted by the EC in November 2016, which will change the EU’s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy legislation.
“This agreement is important to ensure that European businesses are shielded sufficiently from dumping by countries that significantly distort markets,” Eurofer director general Axel Eggert said.
“We expect the EC now to demonstrate the workability and predictability of the implementation of this new methodology,” he added.
The new way of calculating the effects of dumping from countries which create significant market distortions arose from the EU’s move away from having a specific list of “non-market” economies for which a “non-standard” methodology automatically applied.
That methodology allowed the EU to measure undistorted costs – for example, of raw materials and energy – from a different market and to apply these measures to the calculation of a dumping margin that would be applied to steel product imports from an exporting country, Eurofer said.
“In determining [whether there are any market] distortions, several criteria will be considered,” the EC said.
“[These will include] state policies and influence, the widespread presence of state-owned enterprises, discrimination in favour of domestic companies, and the lack of independence of the financial sector,” it added.
The EC may also draft reports on countries or sectors in which it will identify distortions. The evidence collected in these reports will be available for future investigations.
This means that, when an industry files a complaint, it will be able to rely on these EC reports to make its case concerning countries where trading distortions exist.
The agreement also includes changes which will strengthen the EU’s anti-subsidy legislation so that, in future cases, any new subsidies revealed in the course of an investigation can be examined and included when final duties are imposed.
“European industry needs a coherent trading environment and, because dumping undermines our economic viability, it is more important than ever that the EU can combat this […] in a quick, effective and predictable way,” Eggert said.
“Once the new methodology has been agreed by the EU, it must actually work in defending European jobs and industry against dumping from countries with significant distortions – as the approach [taken by the USA] does,” he added.
“Meanwhile, EU policy-makers must reach agreement at their forthcoming meeting on the modernisation of TDIs [trade defence instruments], in order for the EU to have a complete trade defence package to put forward to the European Parliament and the Council,” he said.
The legislation is expected to be brought into force by the end of this year.
The new rules will only apply to cases initiated after the legislation enters into force.