The Department of Commerce released its preliminary findings on countervailing duties (CVD) on hot-rolled steel from Brazil, Turkey and South Korea, on Monday. While Brazilian exporters were found to receive state subsidies, Korean and Turkish sellers were seen to receive no considerable amount of state subsidies.
With the final determination to be announced in July 2016, the first round of the investigation has brought about a 7.42 percent countervailing duty against Brazilian exporters.
The Department of Commerce also found serious indications of possible dumping for some Brazilian exporters, who are expected to face retroactive duties.
Turkish producers exported 277,800 tons of steel to the US in 2014, accounting for 6.4 percent of the US total imports of this product. While Korean exporters sold 879,800 tons of steel to the US in the same period, the corresponding figure was 170,300 tons for the Brazilians.
Issuing a press statement on Wednesday, Namık Ekinci, the chairman of the Turkish steel exporters' Union (ÇİB), said earlier statements by the union have proven to be true with the findings.
“We have always maintained that the Turkish steel industry receives no subsidy. … We believe the final assessment will be in this direction,” Ekinci said.
Arguing that the Department of Commerce pursues investigations upon protective pressure from US steel producers, Ekinci said, “Even though we are shown to have no [substantial] subsidies, such cases slow down our export activities.”
According to projected data, the volume of Turkish steel exports decreased from 277,800 tons in 2014 to 214,700 tons in 2015.
Source:todayszaman.com