Within a relatively short period several countries worldwide including the US, Mexico and India implemented AD reviews or trading measures against Chinese seamless tubes. This situation began with the antidumping duties imposed by the EU in October 2009. In this connection, Qian Gang, general manager of Hubei Province-based Chinese steelmaker Xinyegang Steel Co., Ltd, has stated that, as a respondent, the steel producer plans to invest RMB 5 million in continuing legal proceedings with the EU, while it is also hoping that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce will get the case transferred to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for judgment.
In October 2009, the European Union judged that seamless tube imports from China caused harm to EU industries, and decided to impose 17.7-39.2 percent final antidumping duty on Chinese origin seamless tube imports. Subsequently, Xinyegang Steel Co., Ltd led other affected Chinese companies Tianjin Pipe (Group) Corporation, WSP Holdings Limited and others in making an appeal to the European Court of Justice.
Commenting on the issue, Liu Wenxue, general manager of CITIC Pacific Special Steel, has said that, viewing the EU output structure and demand structure, 90 percent of local European products are high-end oil, gas and nuclear pipes, while Europe's output of low-end mechanical tubes and structural tubes is very low. However, the EU has strong demand for mechanical and structural tubes, leading to a shortage of supplies for these products. The Chinese steelmakers' exports mainly consist of these products, he said.