Regarding the petition filed by the US-based producers for an antidumping (AD) duty investigation against imports of rebar from Japan, Taiwan, and Turkey, and a countervailing duty (CVD) investigation into imports of rebar from Turkey, Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB) chairman Namık Ekinci said that it is nothing new for the US to use WTO rules through groundless reasons to protect the expensive prices and high profits of its producers He reminded that the antidumping duty investigation launched in 2013 was terminated without any duties and the countervailing duty resulted in a very low duty rate. He also wonders how the US authorities will react to a CVD petition while there is already a CVD rate in force.
CIB chairman said that even if Turkey’s exports to the US increased, it is in line with the competitive and demand-driven sales within the order of free trade rules. Besides, US domestic demand has not remained stable since 2014 and showed a steady increase. He said it is only normal for imports to increase when there is strong demand. “If meeting of this demand via imports instead of domestic market which is highly-priced is seen as a problem, then the domestic producers should review their own terms and expensive prices, instead of blaming the imports” Mr. Ekinci added.
The CIB official believes that the US authorities will make an objective decision within the WTO rules.