By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commision said on Wednesday it had extended anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese corrosion-resistant steel to stop producers avoiding existing duties by slightly modifying the material they export.
The European Union set duties in February 2018 of between 17.2% and 27.9% for imports of certain corrosion-resistant steels from China to counter what it said were unfairly low prices.
The Commission said these anti-dumping measures had caused imports of affected products to fall almost to zero, but at the same time, imports of other corrosion-resistant products had climbed to around 1 million tonnes, or 650 million euros ($769.28 million) per year. It launched an investigation into the issue in November 2019.
"A specific anti-circumvention investigation now confirmed that the anti-dumping measures were the only reason for that shift," the Commission said.
The extended duties will apply to corrosion-resistant steel products modified by plating or coating by magnesium, an alloy with silicon, additional surface treatments, or with a slightly modified composition of elements.
The extension of the anti-dumping duties will apply to all Chinese exporters except for one cooperating company, the Commission said. It did not name the exempted company.