Chile's Anti Price-Distortion Commission has imposed a 37.8% provisional duty on imports of wire rod, which will be the subject of an antidumping investigation requested in early September by long steel producer CAP Acero, the Huachipato mill operated by integrated steel group CAP.
The duty will be valid for imports for all countries, except Canada, Mexico, Peru and "developing countries that account for no more than 3% of Chile's rod imports," the commission said Tuesday. The duty is for products under HS codes 72132000, 72139110, 72139120, 72139190, 72271000, 72272000 and 72279000.
CAP Acero's main target is China, which supplies 83% of Chile's imports of the long steel, according to the commission.
In a press release, the company said Chilean wire rod imports multiplied by five between 2011 and 2015, with "China the main actor." "The steel industry currently faces a complex scenario, mainly expressed by the deterioration of its margins, a result of the price distortions in the international markets. One of the reasons for this is the global overcapacity, particularly in China," CAP Acero's general manager Ernesto Escobar said in the statement.
The commission said that Chile's wire rod imports totaled 64,569 mt between January and September, 33.6% more than in the same period of 2014.
"The competition forced domestic wire rod prices to decrease 3.8% in Pesos and 12.3% in US dollars through 2015," it added, without providing actual prices.
