EU to establish 35.8 percent import duty on Russian seamless pipes

Starting from June 1, 2006, the European Commission (EC), according to preliminary data, intends to impose import duty on seamless pipes from Ukraine, Russia, Romania, and Croatia. Although the EC has not officially announced its decision regarding Russian seamless pipes yet, the reliable source has reported that the import duty on Russian seamless pipes would be about 35.8 percent, particularly for TMK. Such duties mean the complete closure of EU market and need for redirection to other world regions for Russian seamless pipe producers. Russia supplied the EU with about 50,000 tons last year.