Southeast European Times reported that after the EU launched an investigation into whether exporters of welded steel pipes and profiles from Turkey, Macedonia and Ukraine are selling their products to the European market at prices lower than those of European manufacturers, the three countries have turned the tables, accusing the Union is practicing unprincipled protectionism.
The investigation was initiated on the basis of an appeal to the Union from several European steel pipe manufacturers. They asked for a probe to determine whether the countries' exports had inflicted damage on the industry within the Union.
Mr Mite Shapkovski, the owner of the Metalopromet factory in Strumica, told SETimes that “If the EU imposes a ban on Macedonian producers for export to Europe, we believe it will adversely affect our business. It will certainly have negative consequences for the country's economy as a whole.”
Mr Shapkovski's company is one of the three from Macedonia that are being investigated.
Mr Mehmet Zeren, general secretary of the Turkish Steel Pipe Manufacturers Association, told SETimes that Turkey has been also witnessing a number of anti-dumping investigations from the EU countries concerning its export products.
Mr Zeren said “Although our producers have never sold any product with anti-dumping procedures, such unfair investigations are disturbing us in a great sense. Our exporters had been obliged to spare their time to such procedures instead of concentrating on their business. "
The total volume of pipe production by factories in Europe during 2011 was 3,250,000 tonnes while imports from Macedonia, Turkey and Ukraine to Europe totaled 340,000 tonnes.
The European market has a capacity for more than 3,000,000 tonnes of pipes and profiles annually. Before the economic crisis that engulfed first the metal sector in the second half of 2008, that figure ranged to over 4,000,000 tonnes.
Source - Southeast European Times
(www.steelguru.com)
