After determining that they benefited from unfair subsidies, stainless steel products imports from India and Indonesia into the European Union would now face higher tariffs. This also implies to certain imports from China, under the EU’s Belt and Road investment programme. According to the EU official journal, the European Commission, which conducted the investigation, has placed anti-subsidy taxes on stainless steel cold-rolled flat products at rates ranging from 4.3 percent to 21.4 percent. They will be added to existing anti-dumping levies. Indonesia’s IRNC would face a new 21.4 percent tax, pushing the entire cost to 30.7 percent, including anti-dumping duties.
The new rates for India’s Jindal Stainless Ltd and Jindal Stainless Hisar Ltd are 4.3 percent, taking the total to 14.3 percent. The Commission said the subsidies took the form of preferential loans, duty exemptions and cheap provision of raw materials, partly because of export restrictions for those materials. Indonesia also profited from Chinese subsidies to assist in the development of its stainless steel sector, in exchange for a higher share of Indonesia’s nickel ore exports. The additional duties, which go into effect on Thursday, are intended to compensate EU producers such as Acerinox and Outokumpu, according to the Commission. “Today, we are taking steps to combat unjust state-sponsored subsidies in India and Indonesia, which directly harm our workers and businesses in this critical industrial sector,” EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis stated.
