Egypt Daily News – Walid Gamal El-Din, a board member of the Export Council for Building Materials, stated that the European Union insists on imposing anti-dumping duties on Egyptian flat steel imports despite the evidence provided by the relevant authorities to refute these accusations. He attributed this decision to the availability of natural gas in recent periods, which led to lower production costs for local companies compared to European companies.
The European Union Commission has initially imposed anti-dumping duties on flat steel imports from Egypt, Japan, and Vietnam, starting from April 7. The imposed tariff rate is 15.6%, and companies have until October 6 to submit their objections.
Gamal El-Din said: “Despite presenting all documents and evidence disproving the dumping accusations against Egyptian companies, the EU insisted on imposing these duties.”
He added, “These tariffs have no justification other than the weakness of the European economy following the Russia-Ukraine war. The EU is trying to curb competition to revive its domestic steel industry.”
Regarding the reasons behind these accusations against Egyptian companies, he explained that Egyptian firms have been strong competitors in recent years, benefiting from the abundance of natural gas, which lowered flat steel production costs. In contrast, European flat steel companies struggled with high production costs due to disruptions in Russian gas supplies and soaring prices.
Egypt experienced an increase in natural gas production following the discovery of the Zohr field. However, in 2023, it resumed gas imports, currently at 4.35 billion cubic feet per day, compared to a record 7.5 billion cubic feet per day in 2020-2021.
Gamal El-Din noted that these duties would harm Egyptian steel exports, particularly affecting two main suppliers of flat steel to the European market. However, he stated that it is difficult to determine the expected decline in exports.
The Export Council is currently holding discussions with the commercial representation and the Ministry of Investment to prevent the implementation of these tariffs before October.
Flat steel is used in various industries, including engineering, home appliances, as well as automotive and ship components.
