Chinese producers affected by a recent extension of a provisional, advalorem antidumping (AD) duty over Chilean wire rod imports complained the Chilean government didn’t use the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to set the levies.
In February, the Chilean government extended the existing provisional AD duties for up to two more months.
Currently, wire rod imports from Benxi Beitai Gaosu Steel Wire Rod Co pay a 28.3 percent tariff, while imports from Zhangjiakou Xuanlong High Speed Wire Co and Jiangsu Shagang Group Co. Ltd pay duties of 18.6 percent and 32 percent, respectively. All other Chinese exporters will pay a 40.6 percent AD duty.
The products subject to the provisional AD duties currently fall under the following Chilean HTS codes: 7213.2000, 7213.9110, 7213.9120, 7213.9190, 7213.9900, 7227.1000, 7227.2000 and 7227.9000.
Both Benxi Beitai Gaosu Steel Wire Rod Co and Zhangjiakou Xuanlong High Speed Wire Co said it is “understandable” why Chilean producer CAP Acero didn’t “play by the WTO rules,” since it is a domestic steel producer.
“There’s a major issue, which has been totally omitted by those representing CAP Acero: the current investigation and the decisions to be adopted as a result of the probe are conducted by rules that should respect, in that case, the WTO AD Agreement as well as the Anti-Distortion rules,” the two companies argued.
The Chinese producers said those rules were “severely infringed,” harming Chinese exporters.
Benxi and Zhangjiakou Xuanlong asked the Chilean government to use the WTO rules, otherwise, a definite AD duty may be mistakenly applied.