KARACHI: The National Tariff Commission (NTC) has imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from 6.2 per cent to 17.3pc on flat steel products (such as sheets and plates) for five years.

The products — including iron or non-alloy steel, rolled coils or sheets — were being imported and dumped from Taipei, the European Union, South Korea and Vietnam.

The NTC initiated an anti-dumping investigation into the above-mentioned products on Feb 25, 2021 after a complaint lodged by local steel manufacturers, including Aisha Steel Mills Ltd (ASML) and International Steels Ltd (ISL).

An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.

According to Mehroz Khan of Topline Securities, the commission made a preliminary determination in the case on Aug 23 and imposed provisional anti-dumping duties ranging from 6.2pc to 17.3pc on the import of these products for four months.

The NTC has now made a final affirmative determination of the anti-dumping duty for five years, effective from Aug 23.

Mr Khan said this imposition excluded cold-rolled coils or sheets that are mainly used in automotive outer skins of four-wheeler vehicles and tin mill black plate steel.

While the provisional duties were already in place, the final determination would clear any uncertainty over any future duty determination, he said. This would bode well for flat steel manufacturers, including ISL and ASML.

According to Ahmed Rauf of Sherman Securities, the definitive dumping duties on the import of cold-rolled coils from China’s Taipei is 6.18pc, followed by 17.25pc from Vietnam, 6.5pc from European Union and 13.24pc from South Korea.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2022