Posted on 12 Nov 2018
The Gulf Cooperation Council has terminated its anti-dumping investigation into seamless pipe imports from China without applying duties, according to an informed source.
The investigation into the imports – of seamless pipe not exceeding 406mm in external diameter that falls under HS codes 730419 and 730429 – was launched in April 2017 (see Kallanish passim). This followed an application from Saudi-based pipemakers Jubail Energy Services Company (Jesco) and ArcelorMittal Jubail. At the end of last year the GCC decided not to impose preliminary AD duties.
This was despite reports claiming that the GCC probe had found preliminary dumping margins of 33.5% for Tianjin Pipe, 30.5% for Anhui Tianda, 95.4% for Valin Group, 38.5% for other cooperative companies and 103% for other companies.
Abdulaziz Al Doussari, Saudi National Committee for Steel Industry (NCIS) pipe and tube unit director, said at last week’s Arab Iron & Steel Union (AISU) summit the probe was terminated due to lack of agreement. “The end result was that it was agreed upon only by Saudi Arabia and refused by the others (remaining GCC nations),” he said at the Amman meeting. “And this is a total right for industries like ours to claim, but you cannot claim it, or it is being stopped by individual needs of certain companies within the GCC or within the Arab world, or special benefits of a specific country.”
“It’s unfortunate that nobody had the guts to invest that much,” he continued. “The seamless pipe industry is about $2.6 billion investment and we cannot get protection.”
The GCC’s technical secretariat for anti-injurious practices in international trade could not be reached before deadline for confirmation.
