Turkish authorities are considering whether to launch a trade defense case against imports of hot-rolled coil (HRC) from the EU, market sources have told Fastmarkets.
European mills have increased their HRC export volumes recently, particularly to Turkey, due to the weak demand in their home markets."The start of an anti-dumping case against EU-origin HRC will entirely depend on the attitude of the European producers, because they have been selling to Turkey at dumped prices in recent months," Ugur Dalbeler told Fastmarkets.Dalbeler is chief executive officer of Turkish steelmaker ??olakoglu Metalurji, and is also a member of the board of directors of the Turkish Iron & Steel Producers' Association (T???oeD).European mills were particularly active in the export market in April-May, during which time their domestic HRC prices reached their lowest point for more than two years.Domestic prices have partially recovered since then due to production cuts initiated by European mills with the intention of balancing supply with poor demand. These measures, however, did not address the main issue facing the European flat steel market - weak...