Peru opens anti-dumping probe into Chinese tube imports

The Peruvian government has opened an anti-dumping investigation into imports of welded tubes from China, after a request was filed by domestic producer Tubos y Perfiles Metálicos (Tupemesa) in June 2013.

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The products under investigation are round, square and rectangular tubes with thickness between 1.5mm and 6mm, classified under tariff codes 73063099, 73066100 and 73069000, the Institute for the Defence of Competition and Intellectual Property (Indecopi) said in Peru’s official gazette on Friday October 25.

The date for the conclusion of the investigation has yet to be confirmed.

Exports of Chinese welded tubes had been entering Peru at $697.10 per tonne fob, indicating a dumping margin of 12.8%, Indecopi said.

The calculation is based on the 2010-12 period and the first half of 2013.

Imports of welded tubes from China increased by 37% in 2012 compared with 2010, to 12,767 tonnes, according to Peru’s foreign trade data.

From January to June 2013, these imports surged by 90% year-on-year, to 14,320 tonnes.

Such increases indicated damage to the domestic Peruvian industry, Indecopi said.

Tupemesa accounts for 28.7% of Peru’s welded tube market, while local producers Precor, Acero Arequipa and Gerdau’s Sideperú take the remaining 71.3%, it added.