The ongoing stagnation in the steel market is expected to worsen due to winter and China’s dumping policy, said a member of Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA).
The global steel market is facing unprecedented stagnation and prices are constantly falling, mainly as a result of Chinese dumping in the market. Simultaneously, winter slows down construction in the country, deteriorating steel sales, Reza Shahrestani told Fooladnews on Sunday.
The ISPA official suggested other factors for the stagnation in Iran’s steel and steel products market including the ambiguity in the political situation regarding the anti-Iran sanctions, which are still in force. The sanctions, expected to be decided upon by November 24 in Vienna, have caused serious challenges for Iranian steel producers in providing raw materials and also in exporting their goods. Steel producers expect the administration to impose punitive duties on imports of steel as an anti-dumping measure.
The tension between China and steelmakers across the world has grown in the past several years. The US, in 2010, levied big anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese tubular steel goods, which virtually halted the imports from China in that category. Also in July this year, the US government announced substantial punitive tariffs on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of steel products imported from South Korea and eight other countries.
Washington is not alone in anti-dumping efforts as the European Commission, in June, launched an investigation into accusations that China and Taiwan dumped billions of dollars of stainless steel in Europe, a decision that could reignite trade tensions with Beijing.
Dumping refers to the practice of exporting a product to another country at prices either below the price charged in the home market or even below the cost of production.
