Chile's Anti-Price Distortion Commission, or CNDP, has terminated the antidumping investigation against imports of Chinese steel bars without recommending any measures, the commission said.
It decided "by unanimity not to recommend a provisional antidumping measure, given that current data available do not determine the existence of dumping practices [...] threatening nor harming the domestic production," the commission said Thursday, adding that imports of the material in 2016 and during the first five months of 2017 were low, and steel prices began rising in the middle of last year.
The investigation, which started on January 31, applies to material under HS code 7228.3000 and involved imports of steel bars from China, used for the production of grinding balls.
In 2016, Chile imported 7,807 mt of the product, valued at $3.62 million, or $463/mt CIF, all from China, while in the first five months of 2017, imports reached only 328 mt, valued at $138,000, or $420/mt CIF, also all from China.
The petitioner of the investigation was CAP Acero, the Huachipato mill operated by integrated steel group CAP, and the country's sole producer of steel bars. The period of investigation was September 2015 to August 2016, with CAP requesting an AD duty of 17.5%.
The company declined to comment on the outcome, but company sources said the steelmaker plans to appeal to decision.
