On November 9, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Foreign Trade (GAFT) launched an antidumping (AD) investigation into imports of certain hot rolled structural steel sections from China and Turkey, following a complaint submitted by local producer United Steel Company (Saudi Steel). The investigation covers light and medium steel sections, including angles, channels and certain H- and I-beams, following concerns raised by the domestic producer over growing import competition.
According to the official investigation documents, imports of these products from China and Turkey rose sharply from 19,149 mt in 2022 to 136,667 mt in 2025, while shipments from other countries declined from 22,233 mt to 6,487 mt over the same period. China accounted for approximately 85 percent of Saudi Arabia's total imports of the products concerned in 2025, followed by Turkey with 10.5 percent. Saudi Steel, which accounts for around 71 percent of domestic production of comparable products, claims that the increased competition from imported material has put pressure on local selling prices and profitability, alongside rising inventories and a 17 percent decline in its market share index between 2022 and 2025.
The investigation will now focus on whether the pricing of Chinese and Turkish material has contributed to the difficulties reported by Saudi Steel and whether there are grounds for introducing antidumping duties. Although no additional measures have been imposed so far, the findings could lead to changes in import conditions for the products concerned. The investigation is expected to be completed within 12 months, with a possible extension to 18 months.
