NTC to continue 19.15% anti-dumping duty on Chinese steel rebars

The National Tariff Commission (NTC) has announced the continuation of anti-dumping duties at 19.15% on steel rebars imported from China. This decision, effective from October 17, 2022, extends the duties for five years.

Background and Timeline

In 2016, three rebar manufacturers in Pakistan—Amreli Steels, Agha Steels, and Abbas Engineering—raised concerns with the NTC regarding imports of rebar from China being sold at dumped prices, causing significant harm to the domestic industry.

Following due process, on October 23, 2017, the NTC imposed an anti-dumping duty of 19.15% for five years, effective from October 23, 2017, to October 22, 2022.

In October 2022, Amreli Steels (ASTL), Agha Steels (AGHA), and Mughal Steels (MUGHAL) filed a sunset review application. Based on this application and further studies, the NTC has decided to continue the duties for an additional five years starting from the October 17, 2022.

Impact on Imports

According to the NTC notice, imports of bars falling under specific PCT codes were over 125,000 tons in FY16 before the duties were imposed. This amount was drastically reduced to just 3-4 thousand tons by FY22.

Industry Outlook

Continuation of these anti-dumping duties is expected to have a neutral to positive impact on local long steel manufacturers such as ASTL, AGHA, and MUGHAL. With minimal imports from China in recent years, the re-imposition of duties will help protect the interests of domestic players.

Disclosure:

The information in this article is based on research by Topline Research. All efforts have been made to ensure the data represented in this article is as per the research report. This report should not be considered investment advice. Readers are encouraged to consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.