Following the announcement by New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) of the initiation of a countervailing duty (CVD) investigation regarding galvanized sheet from China, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) has stated that China has increased imports of goods from New Zealand and has become its biggest trading partner in recent years. New Zealand, however, has initiated a countervailing investigation against China’s steel products when China’s annual galvanized sheet exports to Zealand total about 4,000 mt and only account for 2.5-4 percent of the New Zealand market, not causing any damage to domestic steel products in New Zealand.
The MOC stated that the move by New Zealand constitutes discrimination against China’s steel products and is unfavorable to the further upgrading of bilateral economic and trade relations between the two sides. The MOC urged that New Zealand should adhere closely to the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and avoid implementing unreasonable measures. “Countries should strengthen dialogue, communication and cooperation to cope with the difficulties in the global steel industry amid the slack demand and slow economic growth worldwide”, the MOC added.