In a press release dated April 22, the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries (EUROFER) has cited the steel safeguard investigation by India against hot rolled flat steel imports on top of an already ongoing antidumping procedure for the same products as a sign that trade protectionism is intensifying, despite commitments made at the last G-20 summit to refrain from such actions.
Commenting on India's new investigation, EUROFER general director Gordon Moffat said, "Following the Washington meeting in November 2008, G20 members did not lose time in raising steel import barriers. Now, shortly after the London meeting this month, we see India, a key G20 member, opening a steel safeguard investigation on the import of hot rolled flat steel products on top of an already ongoing antidumping procedure for the same products."
"We are seriously concerned that by this action targeting a critical, highly traded steel product, India has set the stage for a proliferation of safeguard actions in the global steel market making a destructive wave of steel exports heading to the EU market unavoidable," added Mr. Moffat.
In its statement, EUROFER said, "In addition to the antidumping investigation concerning imports of carbon hot rolled steel products (coils, sheet, plate and strip) from China, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey and Ukraine, initiated on November 28, 2008, India has opened a safeguard procedure against all imports of the same product group. Compared with the AD procedure targeting only Romania among EU member states, the safeguard procedure covers per definition all EU exports of the product concerned. In terms of indirect impact, the safeguard procedure targets Indian overall imports of the products concerned which were at around two million mt per year in 2006-2008."