An investigation by the European Commission has found that imports of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) from Russia, the USA, China, Japan, Korea and PR China are sold at dumped prices and, therefore, cause ‘significant injury’ to the European Union steel industry.
The Commission’s investigation found that dumping margins ranged from 22.6% to 60.1% for the foreign producers concerned, but that provisional duties imposed on the rogue producers ranged from 21.6% to 60.1%.
According to Axel Eggert, director-general of European steel lobbying group EUROFER, the duties imposed will do nothing to restrict the flow of GOES into the region but will simply restore free trade in the EU market at non-injurious prices.
Grain-oriented electrical steel is used in the production of power transformers and is a key element affecting efficiency.
EUROFER believes that maintaining a healthy European production base for GOES is crucial for the long-term health of the EU transformer industry as well as the upgrading of the EU electrical grid.
“It is not a question of pitting jobs in the European transformer industry against those in the European GOES industry. Both depend upon one another and the attainment of the Union’s energy goals depends upon the health of both industries together,” Eggert said.
EUROFER argues that the only viable solution to the problem is that the price paid by transformer producers for GOES reflects the costs and normal profit involved in production. “This is precisely what anti-dumping measures are designed to do,” EUROFER points out.
EUROFER hopes that, through resorting to anti-dumping measures, the price of transformers ‘will reflect the real costs associated with manufacturing this end product and both the European GOES industry and the European transformer industry ‘can enjoy sustainable financial health and maintain the highest possible number of manufacturing jobs in the Union’.