By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commision said on Wednesday it had extended anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese corrosion-resistant steel to stop producers avoiding existing duties by slightly modifying the material they export.
The European Union set duties in February 2018 of between 17.2% and 27.9% for imports of certain corrosion-resistant steels from China to counter what it said were unfairly low prices.
The Commission said these anti-dumping measures had caused imports of affected products to fall almost to zero, but at the same time, imports of other corrosion-resistant products had climbed to around 1 million tonnes, or 650 million euros ($769.28 million) per year. It launched an investigation into the issue in November 2019.
"A specific anti-circumvention investigation now confirmed that the anti-dumping measures were the only reason for that shift," the Commission said.
The extended duties will apply to corrosion-resistant steel products modified by plating or coating by magnesium, an alloy with silicon, additional surface treatments, or with a slightly modified composition of elements.
The extension of the anti-dumping duties will apply to all Chinese exporters except for one cooperating company, the Commission said. It did not name the exempted company.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett. Editing by Jane Merriman)
