The Indonesian Anti-Dumping Committee (KADI) has started an investigation into alleged dumping of cold rolled steel coil from Vietnam, Taiwan, China, South Korea and Japan.

KADI chairman Muchtar said on Friday in Jakarta that the investigation was made in response to a petition recently lodged by steel producer PT Krakatau Steel.

“As a start, we will send letters of inquiry to related parties, including importers and producers [in the exporting countries], to collect information to prove the allegations,” he told reporters at his office.

Muchtar said that the investigation team would also investigate possible material damages caused by the dumping allegations, including productivity, labor and cash flows.

Trade Ministry data shows that last year Indonesia imported 924,801 tons of cold rolled coil — a material predominantly used in the automobile, pipe making and furniture sectors — up 57.19 percent from 588,334 tons in 2009.

Krakatau Steel corporate communication vice president Wawan Hernawan said that his firm filed the complaint three months ago after gathering sufficient data and evidence.
“We proposed the petition because we suspected that the producers have dumped the product [in Indonesia] after a two-year observation,” he said.

“The surge in imports and the declining prices of the products have caused injury to our products,” he explained.

However, he declined to provide further details.

According Wawan, the petition is a normal procedure under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Cold rolled coil produced by Krakatau Steel was also the subject of dumping allegations by producers of similar products in Thailand and the United States several years ago, he said.

Under the WTO rule, the Trade Ministry may impose a temporary anti-dumping import duty on products from other countries to protect local producers from further losses caused by dumping practices after finding preliminary evidence.

It may later impose an anti-dumping duty on foreign products and determine compensation for domestic producers that may have suffered losses from product dumping after investigations have been completed.

Earlier this week, the anti-dumping committee had started another investigation into an alleged dumping of ceramics products from China based on a complaint by local ceramics firm PT Lucky Indah Keramik.

Earlier in April, the anti-dumping committee concluded another investigation on alleged dumping of hot rolled coil from China, Ukraine and Singapore based on a complaint filed by steel firms PT Gunung Linda.