The European non-integrated wire rod processors association EUNIRPA has expressed its concern about the recently initiated US antidumping (AD) duty proceeding against imports of wire rod from Belarus, Italy, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United Kingdom (UK).
EUNIRPA considers that US non-integrated wire rod processors are threatened by this proceeding, because, just like in Europe, the majority of US producers are also vertically integrated. EUNIRPA’s monitoring of the European wire rod market shows that overall consumption in the EU is improving. Imports stabilized in 2016. “Based on what the market tells us, we expect that imports will remain at similar levels for the current year,” stated Kris Van Ginderdeuren, president of EUNIRPA.
According to EUNIRPA, the European wire rod market continues to be dominated by a handful of integrated producers which are increasingly aiming at fully controlling the downstream market. As a result EUNIRPA members are frequently suffering margin squeezes which are exacerbated by ever increasing imports of finished products from non-European countries.