The European Steel Association (EUROFER) has welcomed the start of the registration of Turkish hot-rolled steel imports. This could potentially lead to the retroactive application of anti-dumping duties that are normally scheduled for January 2021.

Given the rules laid down in the basic trade defence regulation, the registration of imports is a condition for retroactive application of anti-dumping of possible provisional duties in January. The registration helps avoid opportunistic import surges ahead of the imposition of later duties. Practically, any imports entering the EU from Turkey as of 14 November 2020 could be subject to anti-dumping duties in the future.

“Anti-dumping procedures are slow and time consuming to deploy”, said Axel Eggert, director general of EUROFER. “While the 14-month long investigation is ongoing, imports will remain volatile and can quickly disrupt the EU market. Registration is, thus, a critical tool to ensure the effectiveness of EU trade defence instruments.”

The request for registration was submitted by EUROFER in September 2020, following an anti-dumping complaint submitted in May 2020. This anti-dumping case should yield conclusions in January 2020.