The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia has issued a provisional anti-dumping order on imports of galvanized steel sheets from China.
Preliminary results from the research carried out by Ministry agencies concluded that imports of galvanized sheet from March 2012 through to March 2013 were conducted under unfair trade conditions, and correspond to the economic and financial damage registered in the corresponding national productive sector.
The investigation began in early 2013, and has since found that during the second half of 2012 and the first half of 2013 demand for galvanized sheet grew 15.04% compared to previous years. This growth was driven by the 8965t rise of Chinese imports, increased consumption, and larger volume of imports from other countries of 2902t. Meanwhile, sales from domestic producers dropped.
In its analysis of the economic damage to the domestic industry by these practices, the findings indicate that during the dumping period the volume of domestic sales fell by 2.50% and the share of domestic sales compared to average national consumption decreased by 3.41 share points. The use of installed capacity was also reduced by 2.46%. The productivity in the domestic industry during the dumping period fell 21.44% per worker, and average real monthly wages fell by 4.88%.
To combat this issue, an anti-dumping duty in the form of a base price has been proposed, to keep the Columbian market competitive. The purpose of these temporary rights is to avoid further damages during the investigation of dumping.
