The European Commission has announced that it has exempted Vietnam-based Lam Khang from the countervailing duties on imports of stainless steel cold rolled (SSCR) flat steel products as the commission found no evidence that the company benefited from subsidies. Duties previously collected from Lam Khang-origin imports between May 8 and December 18 this year are to be refunded.
In May this year, due to circumvention, the commission extended the existing countervailing duty rate of 20.5 percent to imports of stainless steel cold rolled flat products from Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam. The countervailing duties for the given products from Indonesia range at 0-21.4 percent, as SteelOrbis previously reported. With this new decision, exemptions apply to Taiwan-based Chia Far Industrial Factory Co., Ltd., Tang Eng Iron Works Co., Ltd., Tung Mung Development Co., Ltd., Walsin Lihwa Corporation, Yieh United Steel Corporation, Yuan Long Stainless Steel Corp.; Turkey-based Posco Assan TST Celik Sanayi A.Ş.; and Vietnam-based Posco VST Co., Ltd. and Lam Khang Joint Stock Company.
In addition, requests for exemptions from Turkey-based Trinox Metal Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. and Vietnam-based Yongjin Metal Technology have been rejected.