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The anti-dumping probe, announced on the commission’s website, will focus on seamless pipe with external diameter exceeding 406.4mm.
“We feel the investigation is unfair and will respond to it,” said a source at Hubei Xinyegang in China, which Steel First understands to be one of the four biggest producers of large diameter pipe in the country.
The formal response to the anti-dumping suit would be coordinated by China’s ministry of commerce, and the China Iron & Steel Assn (Cisa), the source said.
The complaint was lodged by a defence committee representing producers, altogether accounting for more than a quarter of European Union domestic production.
The Commission said its preliminary investigation showed that Chinese imports have had “a negative impact on the level of prices charged and the market share held by the [European] Union industry”.
This resulted in “substantial adverse effects on the overall performance and the employment situation of the Union industry”, the commission said on its website.
According to China’s ministry of commerce, the total value of such exports to the EU in 2012 was about $91.5 million. The customs codes of the affected products are 73041990, 7042990, 73043998 and 73045999.
The investigation is scheduled to conclude within 15 months, and the EC intends to reference US prices to determine the normal value of the product.
The commission in 2008 launched an anti-dumping probe on Chinese circular cross-section seamless pipe with external diameters not exceeding 406.4mm. It later imposed duties of between 17.7%-39.2% on them.
The source at Xinyegang said they were still waiting on more details about this new case from the EU.
The impact of this suit would not be as great because of the smaller volumes concerned.
“But if the duties are settled as before, we could abandon the EU market and seek new ones,” he said.