Iron ore, steel products: petition seeking imposition of anti-dumping duty rejected by NTC

National Tariff Commission (NTC) has rejected a petition of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) for imposition of anti-dumping duty on iron ore and steel products from China, saying Commission did not find sufficient evidence of dumping, well informed sources in Industries Ministry told Business Recorder.
According to sources, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) informed the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on March 7, 2016 that the domestic manufacturers of iron and steel products eg bars, rods, channels, girders and T-iron, etc, had been agitating for the last many months against the low import prices and dumping of products in the local market by foreign manufacturers.
FBR, sources said, further stated that a scrutiny of import data indicated a sharp decline in prices or iron and steel products in the international market which was also confirmed from international publications - The London Metal, Bulletin. This had a negative impact on revenue collection at import stage. The Revenue Division added that as compared to the last financial year, there had been a significant increase (being 95 per cent) in total quantity of these imported items during first seven months of the current financial year 2015-16 while the total import value of these items for the same period, did not register a commensurate rise (43 per cent).
These statistics, according to the Revenue Division, confirmed the contention of the local industry. The Revenue Division apprised the ECC that presently a Regulatory Duty (RD) @ 10 per cent was in place on aluminum scrape (PCT 7602.0090) whereas there was no RD on aluminum alloy (PCT 7601.2000)- an intermediary product made from scrap. This anomaly has placed the local manufacturers of aluminum alloy at a disadvantageous position.
In order to protect the local industry and to secure the government revenue, the Revenue Division proposed to enhance RD on import of finished products of iron and steel and impose RD @ 10 percent on import of aluminum alloy. The Revenue Division argued that total revenue impact of these measures would be around Rs 1.7 billion in the remaining period of the current financial year.
During a discussion on the proposal of Revenue Division, a view was expressed that in a recent case, PSM had filed a petition with the NTC for imposition of anti-dumping duties on import of iron and steel products from China. However, the NTC had concluded that there was not sufficient evidence of dumping and resultant injury to the local industry.
Sources in PSM told Business Recorder that in order to compete with the international prices and enhance sales PSM demanded a 30 percent RD on the import of HRC. However, the federal government imposed only 12.5 percent RD on its import. It was also argued that domestic steel industry is being adversely affected due to cheap import from China and accordingly it is dumping in the country.
On the request of steel melters, the Finance Ministry imposed a 15 percent RD on the import of billet and other steel items. Now, they are seeking a 40 percent RD on the import of all kinds of non-alloy and alloy steel to curb the rising misdeclaration at the import stage and protect the local industry. The ECC maintained that it would not be advisable to impose anti-dumping duties and advised that the case needed a further scrutiny to make an informed decision. The Finance Minister, however, directed that Secretary Commerce, Chairman FBR and Chairman NTC to further examine the issue and submit a report to the ECC for consideration.