The recent imposition of provisional antidumping measures on EU imports of Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES) has triggered public reactions from stakeholders questioning the justification ground for the Commission’s decision. These reactions opposing such measures cover a variety of allegations notably the risk of short supply in volume or quality ranges, the effect of prices increases, the threat of massive job losses in the Electrical Transformer industry which uses GOES and the negative impact on the Union’s EcoDesign Regulation. Fundamentally, some are stressing that any benefit of duties for the EU GOES producers is outweighed by the loss of cost competitiveness suffered by increased GOES prices to be paid by the EU Electrical Transformer industry. None of these allegations has been substantiated.
EUROFER recalls the very basic facts and principles as developed in the Commission’s decision imposing provisional measures:
- Dumping margins found were substantial, up to 60%, with a significant part of the exporters selling at below their cost of production; the provisional measures imposed were significantly lower (22% to 36%)
- Persistent dumping has suppressed EU domestic GOES prices below the cost of production causing EU GOES producers to suffer annual losses in excess of -20%
- The injurious dumping impacted the entire product spectrum including the high grades
- For example, producers in Japan and the USA have been selling the highest grade material on the EU market at dumping margins well above 50%; such prices well below the cost of production are extremely disruptive to the market because they depress prices throughout the entire product spectrum
- Therefore, if higher grade GOES were excluded from measures, this would depress prices for all grades depriving the EU GOES industry from any remedy against severe injurious dumping
- Duties pushing import prices to a level covering the cost of production and a reasonable profit will in no way harm the European transformer industry: a 30% increase in the EU GOES price might cause at most a 3% increase in the cost of a transformer
- The investigation found that the majority of the transformer producers cooperating in the investigation were profitable
- Because the provisional duties are below the dumping margin (difference between the domestic price and the lower export price), EU market prices will still remain below the prices of GOES in the other major transformer producing countries
The EU GOES industry can offer the full range of products required to produce transformers within the EU, including GOES having a core loss of ≤ 0,90 W/kg.
It is imperative that appropriate antidumping measures remain in place: recent EU GOES price increases have not eliminated the volumes of material within the market causing injurious dumping or rendered antidumping measures unnecessary; the market would continue to be vulnerable to dumping in the absence of appropriate antidumping measures.
The long-term health of the EU transformer and GOES industries are linked. The international competitiveness of the EU transformer industry would be severely at risk if the dumping of GOES on the EU market was not corrected and the EU GOES industry was severely crippled or eliminated: This would, in turn, jeopardize the sustainable attainment of the development of the EU’s EcoDesign Regulation (EU electricity efficiency objectives) as the EU transformer producers would be entirely dependent on the availability of the most efficient grades from a handful of producers whose domestic transformer industries would have priority supply. This is similar to the vulnerable position India finds itself in.
Steel is 100 % recyclable, over and over again, without loss of its unique properties – a permanent material for today´s and future generations. STEEL MADE IN EUROPE is essential. The EU steel industry plays a vital role in many of Europe´s strategic supply chains. It offers value added products and services developed in close cooperation with its customers to create a stronger, lighter and more sustainable world. EUROFER, the European Steel Association, represents almost 100 percent of steel made in Europe, combining a turnover of approximately €166 billion – a share of 1.3 percent in the EU’s GDP. At more than 500 steel production and processing sites in 24 EU member states we provide direct employment for 328 thousand people and indirect employment for millions of European citizens.