Commenting on South Africa’s initiation of a safeguard duty investigation against cold rolled steel products from China, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has remarked that South Africa has initiated two safeguard duty investigations against Chinese steel imports within a period of four months, giving rise to strong concerns in China as regards the development of bilateral trade between the two sides.
The MOC stated that South Africa should adhere closely to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and conduct its investigation in a just, fair and transparent way, while it expressed the hope that the two sides would strengthen dialogue and communication and resolve trade frictions. “China is also supporting and encouraging its steel enterprises to defend themselves according to the WTO rules,” the MOC added.