EU launches cold rolled steel antidumping investigation

The European Commission has begun an antidumping investigation into imports of certain cold rolled flat steel products originating in India, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam. 

The investigation was opened following a complaint from the European steel industry association, Eurofer, on August 4. It alleges that imports of certain cold-rolled flat steel products are being dumped in the EU market, thereby causing injury to domestic producers. 

An official notice published by the Commission said that Eurofer’s complaint detailed evidence of “significant” dumping margins for all the countries concerned. It suggested that dumping margins could be in the range of 10% to 50%.

The antidumping investigation will cover the period from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. However, the examination of trends relevant for the assessment of injury will cover the period from January 1, 2022. 

Interested parties have 37 days to submit representation to the Commission. The investigation will be concluded within one year, but not more than 14 months of the date of yesterday’s (September 18) notice. 

'Another barrier' to EU imports

Commenting on the announcement, MEPS steel market analyst Jon Carruthers-Green said: “Steelmakers in the EU will, of course, welcome any additional antidumping measures, seeing it as a vital safeguard against what they consider widespread dumping. 

“At the same time, the feedback we have already heard from mills and traders outside the bloc indicates concern that this may simply create another barrier to entry, with the Commission effectively seeking ways to limit imports rather than addressing underlying market distortions.” 

India is the only country that is subject to the new antidumping investigation to have its own tariff-rate quota under the EU’s current import safeguard measures. Japan, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam, meanwhile, are each subject to 13% caps on individual countries’ use of the measures’ “other countries” safeguard quota. In each case, these caps have been exceeded during the quarter three quota period. The quarter four period will open on October 1. 

Antidumping duties will have a significant influence on of imports under the EU’s Non Alloy and Other Alloy Cold Rolled Sheets category in 2024. Shipments from India, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam accounted for 67.7% of imports - almost 1.85 million tonnes. 

Investigation adds to existing uncertainty

The European Commission’s newly opened antidumping investigation will add further uncertainty for EU steel importers. MEPS research found that most have already ceased their import activity due to uncertainty about the cost of new CBAM taxes, which will be applied to imports from January 1, 2026. The Commission has yet to publish the benchmark emissions which will allow importers to calculate the cost of CBAM taxes. 

Furthermore, the Commission recently consulted market participants on the form of a possible replacement for its current import safeguard measures, which will expire at the end of June 2026. Uncertainty about the form of the new regulation and the timing of its possible implementation are undermining confidence in forward orders of third-country materials. 

However, MEPS research respondents say that certain steel suppliers in China, India and South Korea, and some large European traders, are now quoting prices which include the estimated cost of CBAM taxes and other duties. Some material has been booked on these terms. The cost of CBAM is widely estimated, by these suppliers, at EUR40-70 per tonne, MEPS’s European Steel Review reported.