KARACHI: The National Tariff Commission (NTC) on Wednesday slapped up to 14.24 percent of anti-dumping duties on steel products originating from China and south Africa for the next five-year period.

   “ Color coated coils/sheets are imported from the exporting countries (China and south Africa) at dumped prices and (are) consequently causing material injury and threat of material injury to the domestic industry,” the state-owned investigation authority NTC said in a statement. “The commission… has decided to impose definitive anti-dumping duties… on imports of color coated coils/sheets… for a period of five years with effect from June 13, 2018.”

    Chinese steel imports bear 5.36 percent to 10.88 percent of anti-dumping duties, while steel imports from south Africa carry up to 14.24 percent of duties.

    NTC, following an investigation launched in June 2017, found that there was a significant increase in volume of dumped imports of the investigated product and significant price undercutting of the domestic-like products in the local market.

  “Resultantly, the domestic industry suffered material injury on account of low level of production, low level of capacity utilisation, decline in market share, negative effect on inventories and growth,” it said.

  “Besides, the commission determined that the dumped imports are posing imminent threat of material injury to the domestic industry… on account of likely further increase in the volume of dumped imports, idle capacities of like product in the exporting countries, inventories/excess production of like product in the exporting countries and trade defense actions taken by other countries against China steel products.”

   Analyst Moazzam Akhtar at Taurus Securities said the imposition of anti-dumping duties would prove positive for International Steels Limited (ISL) that has production capacity of color coated coils at 84,000 tons per annum.

 “The imposition of this protectionist policy should facilitate the flat steel roller to better compete in terms of pricing and ultimately improve margins,” Akhtar said.

   ISL, the sole local producer of color coated coils, was facing tough competition from the importers who supplied the steel products to domestic galvanised markets.

     NTC, however, exempted imports destined to export-oriented industry from the latest anti-dumping duties.

    Government has been imposing punitive duties on steel imports during the past years to protect local industry having more than 50 players.

    In January last year, the government imposed definitive anti-dumping duties ‘retroactively’ in the range of 13.17 percent to 19.04 percent on cold rolled coils/sheets importable from China and Ukraine for a period of five years.

    The World Steel Association termed Pakistan as one of the world’s fastest-growing steel producers.

   The country’s crude steel output climbed nearly 40 percent to five million tons in 2017 due to growing demand for infrastructure and residential developments.

    Construction sector that accounts for 2.7 percent to GDP grew nine percent during the last fiscal year of 2017, the State Bank of Pakistan said in its annual economic report.