Guatemalan’s economy ministry, Mineco, said it won’t impose any anti-dumping (AD) measures on galvanized steel imports from China.
The government positioning follows a 2014 request by Ternium Internacional Guatemala, which asked the nation’s foreign trade administration, Dace, to initiate an AD investigation on the Asian product.
As a result, Mineco said it won’t impose any duties on the imported material from China, which include galvanized steel sheets, rolls, coils, bands and strips. Mineco said there’s “no evidence” of harm to the Guatemalan domestic steel industry.
In March last year, Ternium, which has a steelmaking plant in the city of Villa Nueva, claimed the existence of dumping practices on Chinese galvanized steel exports. At the time of Ternium’s request to Dace, the company said galvanized steel imports from China had increased by 183 percent in 2013, 2012 and 2011.
Commenting Guatemalan's decision, the Latin America Steel Association, Alacero, said on Friday that the move leaves room for the exports of "subsidized" and "dumped" products. Sebastian Castro, director at Ternium Guatemala, said about 1,450 direct and indirect jobs are being put "at risk" as a result of the government's measure.