Chinese anti-dumping duties on stainless steel imports can impact Indonesia the most
China has opened antidumping investigations on stainless steel imports from the EU, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia as trade tensions around the globe heated up after the US implemented section 232 to impose 25% tariff on steel imports. Around 98% of the Chinese stainless steel imports are coming from these locations.
The Commerce Ministry of China revealed on 23rd July 2018 that the antidumping investigation aims imports of stainless steel billet and hot-rolled stainless steel sheet and plate as they increased substantially during 2017.
Commodity Inside view:
China produced around 25.7 million tonnes of stainless steel accounted for about 54% of the global stainless steel production in 2017. China also consumes around half of the global stainless steel which is used in construction, automotive, electrical machinery and mechanical engineering applications to protect corrosion. The country imported 1.2 million tonnes (worth around $2.5 billion) of stainless steel products in 2017, up almost 200% from the preceding year. About 36% of stainless steel were imported from Indonesia during the same year. The average import prices of stainless steel products also declined $1,800/tonne in 2017 from $2,400/tonne a year before.
The anti-dumping investigation has been opened in response to several complaints received from the local Chinese producers including Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel and Baosteel’s stainless steel division.
The antidumping investigations encompass Spain’s Acerinox, Finland’s Outokumpu Oyj, Luxembourg-based Aperam, and Japanese companies Nisshin Steel, NSSMC and JFE Steel Corp. The antidumping probe also includes Indonesia’s PT Jindal Stainless and South Korean steelmaker Posco.
The investigation also targets Chinese companies with offshore operations. Due to the low cost of production in Indonesia backed by abundant sources of Chromium and Nickel, some private Chinese stainless steel companies invested in Indonesia recently. In 2017, China’s Tsingshan opened a stainless steel plant with a production capacity of 3 million tonnes/year while another Chinese company Delong Holding has announced to start its stainless steel production in Indonesia by 2020.
It is estimated that around 65% of Chinese stainless steel imports come from Indonesia. Commodity Inside understands that in the case of antidumping duties, Indonesian mills would be the most affected due to their major share in Chinese stainless steel imports and will force to find some new markets for their stainless steel. The upcoming stainless steel investments in Indonesia can also be affected by these antidumping investigations.
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