On 28 March 2025, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) announced the initiation of an investigation into the alleged dumping of flat rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel of a width of 600 mm or more, clad, plated or coated, with aluminium-zinc alloys, of a thickness of less than 0.45mm, classifiable under tariff subheadings 7210.61.20 and 7210.61.30 and flat-rolled products of other alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, otherwise plated or coated with zinc, of a thickness of less than 0,45mm, classifiable under tariff subheadings 7225.92.25 and 7225.92.35 originating in or imported from the People’s Republic of China. Comment is due by 03 May 2025.
The Applicant
The Application was lodged by ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd (AMSA) and SAFAL Steel (Pty) Ltd (SAFAL) (‘the Applicant’). The Applicant submitted an application to ITAC alleging that a thin-gauge corrosion-resistant steel coil originating in or imported from China is being dumped into the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), causing material injury to the SACU market. The Applicant submitted sufficient evidence and established a prima facie case to enable ITAC to arrive at a reasonable conclusion that an investigation should be initiated based on dumping, material injury and a causal link between the alleged dumped imports and the material injury experienced by the SACU Industry.
The Allegation of Dumping
The dumping allegation is based on comparing the normal value and the export price from China.
The normal value for China was determined based on sales of the subject product to third countries, i.e., the United Kingdom (UK) and Germany. The normal value for the UK and Germany was adjusted for the anti-dumping duties that are currently in place against corrosion-resistant steel coils from China. Additionally, the normal value was adjusted for freight, port handling and clearance costs.
The export prices were determined based on South African Revenue Service (SARS) import statistics. These prices were adjusted with 5% of the average ex-factory price. On this basis, the ITAC found prima facie proof of dumping the subject product from China. The dumping margin was calculated as follows:
The country dumping margin is calculated at 52.61%.
The Allegation of Material Injury and Causal Link
The Applicant submitted evidence indicating that it had experienced material injury in the form of price depression, price suppression, price undercutting, a decline in sales volumes, a decline in profit to losses, a decline in output volumes, a decline in market share, a decline in productivity, a decline in return on investment, a decline in capacity utilisation, a decline in cash flows, a decline in growth and an increase in inventories. Furthermore, the Applicant provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the material injury experienced by it can be linked to the alleged dumped imports.
On this basis, ITAC found prima facie proof of material injury and a causal link between the imported product and the material injury experienced by the SACU Industry.
Period of Investigation
The period of investigation for purposes of determining the dumping margin is 01 September 2023 to 31 August 2024. The period of investigation for purposes of determining material injury is 01 September 2021 to 31 August 2024.