Regarding the antidumping petition filed by US rebar producers against rebar imports from Turkey and Mexico, Ugur Dalbeler, CEO of Turkey-based steelmaker Colakoglu Metalurji and chairman of the International Rebar Producers and Exporters Association (IREPAS), has told SteelOrbis that the petition has not come as a surprise and that Turkish exporters have been expecting this investigation since June this year.
Mr. Dalbeler said that the investigation request will probably be accepted by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), while he went on to stress that the alleged antidumping margins ranging between 41.93 percent and 42.49 percent for Turkish producers are without basis. Even if the ITC makes an affirmative decision regarding the investigation, Dalbeler said he believes that the final antidumping margins will be lower.
The Colakoglu Metalurji CEO also stated that he does not expect any difficulties regarding his company's rebar sales to the US through its trading subsidiary Medtrade Inc. located in Houston, Texas, adding that the sales will continue.
Dalbeler explained that such dumping investigations do not result in an antidumping duty for the whole country but that antidumping duties are imposed on the producers/exporters included in the petition according to dumping margins. He also predicted that imports into the US from Colakoglu Metalurji will be subject to this antidumping petition. "What is important is the investigation period," said Dalbeler, who pointed out that Turkey's rebar exports to the US declined in the first half of 2013.
According to Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), during the first half of the current year Turkish rebar exports to the US declined to 271,990 mt, compared to 277,088 mt in the first half of 2012. In the first half of 2012, Turkish rebar exports to the US had declined in volume during the second quarter compared to the first quarter, while this year the rebar export volume to the US increased in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. In the whole of 2012, Turkey's rebar export to the US totaled 601,853 mt.
On the other hand, the ITC data show that US rebar imports from Turkey amounted to 435,447 mt during the first half of 2012, while the figure for the whole of the year totaled 594,646 mt . In the meantime, total imports of products in question to the US from Turkey amounted to 423,642 mt in the first half of 2013, also according to the US ITC data.
Dalbeler concluded by saying that Turkish rebar exporters faced a similar antidumping investigation between 1997 and 2007 and that they survived.
The US imposed an antidumping duty order on Turkish rebar imports ranging between 9.84 percent and 41.8 percent in 1997.