Chinese hot-dipped galvanized sheet producers criticized the European Union's anti-dumping investigation into steel product imports from China during a meeting with the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) yesterday, a CISA official told Interfax today.
 
"The Chinese producers said that anti-dumping complaints from European steel mills are unreasonable and they have agreed to work together to protect their interests after replying to investigation requests," the CISA official, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
 
The European Commission (EC) announced on 14  December that it initiated an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese steel product imports after receiving a complaint from the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries (Euorfer) on behalf of European steel mills in October 2007. The complaint was in regard to Chinese hot-dipped metallic coated iron or steel flat-rolled products, as well as stainless steel cold-rolled flat products.  
 
The EC has suggested that a comparison be made between steel markets in China and Brazil so as to establish the definition of a normal market for the investigation, which is scheduled to run for up to 15 months as of 14 December this year. However, any provisional measures must be imposed on Chinese steel product imports within nine months of 14 December.  
 
Eurofer says that excessive exports of the above two products from China have caused European steel mills to lose a significant share of the EU market, causing injury to local steel industries by undercutting EU market prices by between 25% and 30%, as Interfax previously reported.  
 
However, European downstream steel users have voiced disagreement against the anti-dumping complaints from European steel mills.  
 
Orgalime, or the European Engineering Industries Association, recently urged EU authorities not to introduce restrictive measures on the market, as they will inevitably jeopardize the capacity of small and medium-sized engineering enterprises in the EU.
 
Orgalime speaks for 35 trade federations that represent some 130,000 companies in mechanical, electrical, electronic and metalworking industries in 23 European countries.
 
"China's hot-dipped galvanized sheet exports to Europe have fallen in recent months, reflecting slack demand from Europe's steel market. Moreover, the current price differential between European and Chinese product prices is not favourable enough for Chinese steel mills to make profits," China Commodity Marketplace analyst, Huang Yanhua, told Interfax today.   
 
Domestic steel mills are currently more inclined to sell products in the domestic market rather than export overseas due to increased domestic steel product prices, and exports are not likely to pick up until the end of January next year, when a revival in the European and U.S. steel markets is expected, Huang added.
 
For more intelligence on Chinese metals and mining, contact David Harman in Hong Kong at david.harman@interfax-news.com or (852) 2537-2262.