Egypt Drops Anti-Dumping Duty Investigation on CRC Imports

Egypt’s Ministry of Trade & Industry has announced that there will be no antidumping duties imposition on CRC imports from China, Belgium, and Russia, according to an official notification dated 3 Apr’18. The investigation for the same was initiated in Oct’16.

The initiator of the investigation was Egypt’s major producer Kandill Steel which has an annual production capacity of 650,000 tonnes and manufactures CRC, PPGI, and Galvanized steel which caters to country’s both domestic as well as export markets.

According to sources, Egypt authorities had earlier admitted to the dumping of CRC in the country and has also planned to impose anti-dumping duty on the same in the range of 10% to 17%.

However, the end user industry has expressed its opposition to the antidumping duty imposition on CRC.

According to a representative of Chamber of Metallurgical Industries of Egypt, “The ministry had to find a compromise between the consumers and suppliers: to let buying of import CRC at a lower price and provide local producers with export opportunities or to restrict imports and redirect export volumes to Egypt. They chose the first option.”

A local source from the country added that “If the local producers focus only in the local market, Egypt is self-sufficient in meeting its demand for CRC. However, there is tension between domestic white goods manufacturers and CRC producers with regards to payment terms.

While white goods manufacturers want to make deferred payments (payment in installments), CRC stockists need cash payments. Subsequently, CRC producers normally sell their produce at higher prices so that stockists cannot solve the problem of the payment between CRC producers and white goods. Thus, stockists rather prefer to import CRC at more competitive prices and then sell it to white goods manufacturers with deferred payments.

The CRC producers when faced with this challenge of imported material then start selling their output in the export market.”

Official notification on dropping of anti-dumping duty investigations on Egypt’s CRC imports