Recently, the European Commission issued a notice announcing its decision to impose anti-dumping duties on certain stainless steel products originating from China. This move has once again attracted widespread attention in the field of international trade. The anti-dumping measures target a variety of stainless steel products, including stainless steel seamless pipes, cold-rolled stainless steel sheets, and stainless steel butt-welded pipe fittings, covering multiple categories under the EU Combined Nomenclature (CN) coding system.

Taking stainless steel seamless pipes as an example, on May 31, 2024, the EU made a final ruling in the second anti-dumping sunset review. It clearly stated that if the anti-dumping measures were lifted, the dumping of the involved products and the damage caused by such dumping to the EU industry would continue or recur. Therefore, it decided to maintain the anti-dumping duties on the Chinese products involved, with tax rates ranging from 48.6% to 71.9%. The dumping investigation period for this case was set from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, while the injury investigation period ran from January 1, 2019, until the end of the dumping investigation period. As early as September 30, 2010, the European Commission launched the first anti-dumping investigation into stainless steel seamless pipes originating from China, and made a final anti-dumping ruling on December 20, 2011. Subsequently, on December 10, 2016, and March 3, 2023, it initiated the first and second anti-dumping sunset review investigations respectively.

In terms of cold-rolled stainless steel sheets, the European Commission announced in 2015 that it would impose a 6-month provisional anti-dumping duty on cold-rolled stainless steel sheets imported from mainland China and Taiwan, China, starting from March 26 of that year, with tax rates ranging from 10.9% to 25.2%. This followed a complaint filed by the European Steel Association in May 2014, alleging that enterprises from mainland China and Taiwan were exporting cold-rolled stainless steel sheets at unfairly low prices. According to the association, since 2013, steel enterprises from mainland China and Taiwan had engaged in low-price dumping, exporting cold-rolled stainless steel sheets worth a total of 620 million euros to the EU, accounting for 17% of the EU market share.

Regarding stainless steel butt-welded pipe fittings, on April 14, 2023, the European Commission issued a notice, making a positive final ruling in the first anti-dumping sunset review on such products originating from mainland China and Taiwan, China. Among them, the anti-dumping duties imposed on products from mainland China range from 30.7% to 64.9%, with different rates applicable to different enterprises. For example, Zhejiang Guode Pipe Industry Co., Ltd. is subject to a 55.3% duty, while Suzhou Yuli Pipe Industry Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Judd Pipeline Industry Co., Ltd. both face a 30.7% duty. For producers/exporters from Taiwan, China, the anti-dumping duties range from 5.1% to 12.1% (King Lai Hygienic Materials Co., Ltd. is exempt from taxation).

The EU stated that the launch of these anti-dumping investigations and the implementation of tax measures are based on the finding that Chinese producers are dumping products into the EU market. It believes that such dumping has caused damage to the EU's local stainless steel industry, such as increased downward pressure on sales prices, which has led to financial problems for EU producers from countries including Belgium, France, Poland, and the Netherlands. It is estimated that the EU stainless steel market is worth 4.6 billion euros, with approximately 20% of the market share coming from imports from China.

However, relevant Chinese enterprises hold different views. Representatives of Chinese enterprises have pointed out that the stainless steel products exported to the EU are priced entirely based on market conditions, with no government-guided pricing. The pricing is highly correlated with and fluctuates along with the price of nickel, a raw material. The basis and decisions of the EU's preliminary ruling lack rationality. In response to the imposition of anti-dumping duties, relevant Chinese industry associations and enterprises are actively discussing response strategies. Some enterprises have stated that they will fully prepare relevant materials during the investigation period specified by the EU and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests through legal channels, hoping to prompt the EU to re-examine the relevant rulings and ensure a fair and just international trade environment. This series of anti-dumping measures has undoubtedly brought new challenges to stainless steel product trade between China and the EU, and its subsequent development deserves continuous attention.