Viewpoint: UK should tread carefully on Turkish HRC

Industry association UK Steel should tread carefully when assessing whether or not to seek anti-dumping duties on imports of Turkish hot-rolled coil (HRC).

The association previously told Argus it was "actively considering whether to submit a request for an investigation into dumping of HRC from Turkey" following the European case, which led to the imposition of provisional duties of 4.8-7.6pc. The EU duty is not applicable in the UK, as it will be implemented after the end of the Brexit transition period.

The UK is not a big market for Turkish HRC producers, which sell most of their Europe-destined material to Italy. Up to October this year, the country had sold a miniscule 5,767t of HRC into the UK, across just two months, Eurostat data show. The UK has sold 158,840t into Turkey over the same period, with all the material landing between June and August, when the Covid-19 pandemic sharply reduced domestic and European demand. Similarly, last year, Turkey sold 60,691t to the UK, and received 145,055t in return — a net HRC trade surplus of 84,364t for the UK.

Weaker domestic demand and comparative sterling weakness were contributing factors to the increased UK shipments.

HRC exports from the UK reached 273,744t over the first 10 months of this year, up by 86pc from exports of 147,100t over the whole of last year.

Turkey and the UK have just signed a free trade agreement, which delivers "vital certainty for business and supports thousands of jobs across the UK in the manufacturing, automotive and steel industries", UK international trade secretary Liz Truss said.

The UK has allocated Turkey a seemingly generous quota of 23,602t for January-March 2021 in its steel safeguard, which mirrors that of the EU. It has a similar 23,864t quota for April-June.

Turkey is close to announcing a dumping investigation into EU HRC imports.

By Colin Richardson