Recent trends in steel trade & related policy measures

DSTI/SU/SC(2010)11 68th Steel Committee Meeting Paris 6-7 May 2010

Exports of steel
Some major steel producers such as Japan, Russia, South Korea and EU27 have seen exports recover. China, Ukraine and the U.S. have been recovering much more slowly.
China
9000 7500 4000

Japan
3500 3000
2500 2000

Russia

3500 3000
2500

6000 4500
3000 1500

2000
1500

1500 1000

1000

Ukraine
3500

European Union 27
2600 2400 2200 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 2200
2000

South Korea

3000 2500
2000 1500

1800 1600
1400

1200
1000

1000

Exports of steel
Turkey
2200
2000

USA
1500
1300 1100

1800
1600

1400
1200

900 700 500

300

1000
800

Brazil
1300 1100 900 700 500 300 100 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600

Chinese Taipei

500

Imports of steel
EU and North America are experiencing sharp declines in imports. Imports are recovering mainly in Asian countries. Chinese monthly import levels have declined gradually after big increase in mid-2009.
European Union 27
3500
3000

USA
3500
3000 2500

China

2500
2000

2000 1500
1000 500

2500
2000

1500
1000 500

1500 1000
500

South Korea
3000 1500 1300 1100

Turkey
1500

Thailand
1300 1100
900 700

2500 2000
1500

900 700 500

500
300 100

1000

300

Imports of steel
Chinese Taipei
1300 1100 900 700 500 300
100 1000 800

India

600 400 200

Canada
1000 800 600
400 200

Mexico
800
700

600
500

400 300
200

Steel trade in 2008-2009

China recorded a small trade surplus of 1.6 million tonnes in 2009, compared to a trade surplus of 44.1 million tonnes in 2008, a decline of over 42 million tonnes in one years time. The EUs previously wide trade deficit has closed, and the balance has been in surplus since the first quarter of 2009. The U.S. also seen its trade deficit narrow, though that nevertheless remains one of the largest net importers of steel.
Exports
Millions of metric tonnes

Imports
2009 33.3 30.1 27.6 24.0 24.0 20.2 17.4 10.0 9.2 8.6 % change -11.3 -10.9 -3.0 -16.3 -60.0 -1.6 -6.0 -0.8 -30.9 -6.9 China EU27 S. Korea USA Turkey Vietnam Thailand Iran India Chinese Taipei 2008 15.8 40.1 28.8 30.2 13.3 7.9 11.8 7.8 6.8 9.3 2009 22.4 20.8 20.3 15.3 10.2 9.4 9.0 8.6 7.7 6.5 % change 41.7 -48.1 -29.4 -49.1 -23.0 19.0 -23.7 10.3 13.2 -29.4

2008 Japan EU27 Russia Ukraine China S. Korea Turkey Chinese Taipei USA Brazil 37.5 33.8 28.4 28.6 59.9 20.6 18.5 10.0 13.4 9.2

Recent policy developments

Developments in 7 countries since the last Steel Committee meeting in December 2009
China China Jan. 2010 Jan. 2010 Elimination of export duties on certain light sections Annual tariff adjustments; temporary tariff was abolished and MFN tariff is applied to three products (CRC:7209.1810 [from 3 to 6%], GO silicon sheet:7225.1100 [from 1 to 3%], Stainless seamless boiler tube: 7304.4110/4910 [from 5 to 10%]) Introduction of mandatory standards for galvanized steel sheets Requiring the use of Bahasa Indonesia on the labels of many common goods incl. construction materials The government has delayed import tariff exemption on several steel products. (It will be gradually reduced and cut to zero through Jan 2012.)

India Indonesia Mexico

Feb. 2010 Dec. 2009 Jan. 2010

(contd) Recent policy developments

Philippines

Apr. 2010

In Apr. 2010, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) deferred the implementation of mandatory standards on imported cold rolled coils which were to become effective in early Apr. 2010. Extension of application of import duties on certain rolled steel products and pipes, originally imposed in Nov. 2006, for the next 9 months starting from 28 Dec. 2009 Re-imposed 5% customs duty on steel re-bars & cement imports except those coming from GCC countries after a temporary exemption that lasted for 2 years

Russia

Dec. 2009

Saudi Arabia

Jan. 2010

Recent trade remedy measures

So far in 2010, new AD cases have been initiated by 5 economies. 4 economies imposed provisional or final AD/CVD duties in early 2010 on cases started in 2008-2009. Indonesia initiated a safeguard case involving steel wire in Jan. 2010.
Canada China Colombia EU India Indonesia S. Korea Mexico United States Feb. 2010 Mar. 2010 Apr. 2010 Jan. 2010 Apr. 2010 Final AD duties on imports of plate from Ukraine Final AD/CVD duties on Chinese OCTG Final AD/CVD duties on GO silicon steel imported from the US and AD duties on these imports from Russia Initiation of AD duty investigations on imports of wire rods from Brazil and Mexico Initiation of AD duty investigations on Indian stainless steel cold finished wires Initiation of AD duty investigations on Chinese seamless pipes and tubes Initiation of AD duty investigations on imports of stainless HR flat products from the EU, S. Korea, S. Africa, Chinese Taipei and the US Initiation of safeguard investigations on steel wires Initiation of AD duty investigations on Japanese stainless plates Final AD duties on imports of large U-O welded pipes from UK Initiation of AD/CVD duty investigations on Chinese drill pipes Provisional CVD duties on Chinese seamless pipes and tubes

Jan. 2010
Apr. 2010 Jan. 2010 Apr. 2010 Jan. 2010 Jan. 2010 Feb. 2010

Steel Antidumping/CVD initiations 1990-2009

(TOTAL OF 28 ECONOMIES)
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
Non OECD OECD

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

Annex

Tariff measures
Bangladesh Brazil May. 2009 Jun. 2009 Impose a 15% value added tax (VAT) on the imports of mild steel wire rods. Re-established import taxes on several steel products that have been exempt from tariffs since 2005. (HR&CR flats, Plates, Alloy bars & Re-bars) Annual tariff adjustments; temporary tariff was abolished and MFN tariff is applied to three products (CRC:7209.1810 [from 3 to 6%], GO silicon sheet:7225.1100 [from 1 to 3%], Stainless seamless boiler tube: 7304.4110/4910 [from 5 to 10%]) Import tax of 10% with a minimum value, on top of already applicable 5% import duty (CR sheets, galvanized sheets and organic coated sheets). It is reported that it is called a protective tax, or local sales fee, rather than an import duty. (The protective tax was cancelled in Apr 2009.)

China

Jan. 2010

Egypt

Feb. 2009

India
Indonesia Mexico

Nov. 2008
Feb. 2009 Jan. 2010

Increase in import duties on a range of iron and steel products from 0 to 5%.
Increase of import tariffs on some steel products. The government has delayed import tariff exemption on several steel products. (It will be gradually reduced and cut to zero through Jan 2012.) Import tariff increase on stainless welded tube from 5 to 15% from July 2009 to June 2010

Pakistan

Jul. 2009

(contd) Tariff measures

Russia Jun. 2009 Adding China to a list of importers which are required to pay 8% special duties for exporting large diameter pipes, originally imposed in Nov. 2006. The duty will be imposed until December 2009. Extension of application of import duties on certain rolled steel products and pipes for the next 9 months starting from 28 Dec. 2009 Re-imposed 5% customs duty on steel re-bars & cement imports except those coming from GCC countries after a temporary exemption that lasted for 2 years Increased import duties by up to 8% on coated and uncoated strip with effect from 1 January 2009 and then reduced on HR coils and CR coils by 4% on 18 September. The government has reinstated a 5% customs duty on rebar effective from 15 February. Increase import tariffs on steel products several times. From 1 Apr, the government imposes 8% import tax on steel billets and CR coils, 13% on metallic and color coated sheets, and 15% on long products. In addition, impose a 10% duty on imports of boron-added long products used for construction purposes. Russia Dec. 2009

Saudi Arabia

Jan. 2010

Turkey

Jan. 2009

UAE Vietnam

Feb. 2009 Dec. 2008Apr. 2009

Non-tariff barriers
Argentina India India Nov. 2008 Nov. 2008 Feb. 2009 Introduction of non-automatic import licensing requirements (affecting only a very narrow product group of steel) Introduction of licensing requirements for imports of certain steel products. New mandatory product quality certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards for 17 steel imported products. The Government deferred implementation of this regulation by one year on 10 February 2009

Indonesia Indonesia

Jan. 2009 Jun. 2009

Introduction of mandatory standards Importers need to apply for certification to bring into the country any of 202 domestically-listed steel items. Prior to importing, importers must file a report to an appointed surveyor with details such as tonnages and the purpose for which the imported steel will be used.
Requiring the use of Bahasa Indonesia on the labels of many common goods incl. construction materials Introduced $133/ton guarantee payment for rebar imports to the country for a temporary period of 200 days. The deposit is to be paid in case the Ministry of Industry & Trade decides to render the import duty permanent.

Indonesia Israel

Dec. 2009 Jun. 2009

(contd) Non-tariff barriers

Malaysia Oct. 2009 The government on 13 October reinstated mandatory standards on imports of iron and steel products. The standards will apply to 187 tariff lines.

Philippines

Apr. 2010

In Apr. 2010, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) deferred the implementation of mandatory standards on imported cold rolled coils which were to become effective in early Apr. 2010.
Introduction of new requirements for approval under domestic product quality standards

Thailand

Mar. 2009

Buy local requirements

China May. 2009
Chinas State Council Legislative Affairs Office, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Ministries of Industry and Information Technology, Housing, Supervision, Transport, Railways, Water Resources and Commerce jointly released a circular titled NDRC Department of Law and Regulation [2009] Number 1361, which includes a buy Chinese directive for all projects under the countrys ongoing stimulus package. Chinese government procurement programmes are already in existance under the 2002 Government Procurement Law. Indonesia called for government-financed projects to rely only on locally produced steel products to help boost the domestic steel industry. And private projects are expected to voluntarily choose to buy Indonesian steel as well. Buy Iranian steel government order obliging all Iranian state organizations and companies to buy steel only from domestic producers The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) requires the use of US-produced steel, iron and manufactured goods in public works funded by the ARRA, subject to certain exceptions (public interest, non-availability or unreasonable cost). The ARRA requires that this provision be applied in a manner consistent with US obligations under international agreements. Further, Congress has indicated that the "buy American" provision for iron, steel and manufactured goods is not intended to apply to LDCs.

Indonesia

Feb. 2009

Iran United States

Mar. 2009 Feb. 2009

Export policies
China Dec. 2008 Elimination of export duties on certain flat steel products (5%) combined with cancellation of steel export licensing requirements. Imposition of VAT export rebate on certain flat and long steel products (13%) Imposition of VAT export rebate on HRC, plate, sections and some stainless and alloy steel products (9%) Reducing the export tax on some light sections from 10-15% to 5% Elimination of export duties on some light sections Elimination of export duties on steel products (which were imposed in may 2008) The government has lifted its ban on rebar exports which was imposed in April 2008 in a bid to protect local rebar consumers from rising prices. The government issued a list of guidelines that the mills are required to follow and one of the guidelines is that they should have 10% of their production reserved for the domestic market and the rest they are able to export. The Ministry of Finance has reduced export tax on steel billet stepwise from 20% to 15% and finally to 0 with effect from 7 Nov 2008. China China China China India Saudi Arabia Apr. 2009 Jun. 2009 Jul. 2009 Jan. 2010 Nov. 2008 Jun. 2009

Vietnam

Nov. 2008

Trade remedy measures

Complainers Argentina Australia Canada China Colombia Measure Initiation date AD AD/CVD AD AD/CVD AD/CVD AD AD AD AD EU AD AD AD AD GCC SG AD AD India SG AD AD AD Indonesia AD AD SG Israel South Korea SG AD Nov.2009 Dec.2008 Jul.2009 Aug.2009 Jun.2009 Aug.2009 Jan.2010 Sep.2007 Feb.2008 May.2008 Jul.2008 Nov.2008 Apr.2010 Nov.2009 Nov.2008 Nov.2008 Apr.2009 Jan.2010 Apr.2010 Nov.2008 Apr.2009 Jun.2009 Jan.2010 Mar.2009 Apr.2010 Steel tubes Hollow sections Plates OCTG GO silicon steel Steel tubes Wire rods Welded tubes and pipes PSC wires Bars and wire rods Seamless pipes and tubes Hollow sections Stainless steel cold finished bar Angles, channels and beams Stainless CR flat products HR flat products HR flat products Seamless pipes and tubes Stainless HR flat products Plates HR coil H- and I-beams Wire Rebars Stainless plates JPN Provisional duties (Jun.2009) CHN EU, KOR, TWN, USA, ZAF CHN, MYS, TWN KOR, MYS CHN Investigation terminated (Sep.2009) CHN, EU, JPN, KOR, THA, TWN, USA, ZAF CHN, IDN, IRN, JPN, KAZ, KOR, MYS, PHL, ROU, RUS, SAU, THA, TUR, UKR, ZAF Final duties [excl. JPN] (Nov.2009) Withdrawn (Aug.2009) Investigation terminated (Dec.2009) Products CHN CHN, MYS UKR CHN RUS (AD), USA (AD/CVD) CHN BRA, MEX CHN, RUS, BLR CHN CHN, MDA, TUR CHN TUR, UKR, BLR IND Final duties (Dec.2008) Final duties (May.2009) Final duties [CHN] (Apr.2009) Final duties (Oct.2009) Withdrawn (Sep.2009) Final duties (Feb.2010) Final duties (Mar.2010) Final duties (Apr.2010) Defenders Result

(contd) Trade remedy measures

Complainers Mexico Pakistan Philippines Russia Measure Initiation date AD AD AD AD SG SG AD AD AD/CVD AD/CVD AD/CVD AD/CVD AD/CVD Jul.2008 Sep.2009 Jan.2009 Sep.2009 Aug.2008 Dec.2007 Dec.2008 Mar.2009 Feb.2008 Apr.2008 Apr.2009 Oct.2009 Jan.2010 Products Large U-O welded pipes Seamless pipes and tubes Secondary quality tinplates Hot rolled coil Steel angle bars Stainless steel pipe and tubes Bearing tubes Stainless flat products Welded stainless steel pressure pipes Circular welded carbon quality line pipes OCTG Seamless pipes and tubes Drill pipes CHN BRA, CHN, KOR, TWN, ZAF CHN CHN, KOR CHN CHN CHN Final duties (Mar.2009) Final duties [CHN] (CVD: Dec.2008 / AD: May.2009) Final duties (CVD: Dec.2009) Provisional duties (AD: Nov.2009) Provisional duties [CVD] (Feb.2010) GBR CHN BEL, FRA, DEU, NLD, USA BEL, JPN, RUS, UKR, USA Final duties (Sep.2009) Final duties (Nov.2009) Final duties (Nov.2009) Defenders Result Final duties (Jan.2010)

United States