The review, which covers the period from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025, follows a request from Chinese steel producer Boxing Victory Metal Materials, asking the MOIT to review the existing antidumping duties. The current antidumping duties on the given products from Malaysia, Thailand and China are in a range between 9.79 percent and 28 percent depending on the exporter.

The products subject to the review currently fall under the codes 7312.10.91 and 7312.10.99.

The commission has found that the given products exported from Indonesia, Malaysia (except for Southern Steel), Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam at dumped prices appear to have caused material injury to the Australian industry. In addition, the commission stated that Indonesia-based company Pt Ispat Panca Putera did not make sales of rebar to Australia in the given period.

The final dumping margins determined are at the table below.

Indonesia

• Pt Ispat Panca Putera : Did not export
• Pt Putra Baja Deli        : 1.3%

Malaysia

• Ann Joo Steel Berhad                           :  9.2%
• Southern Steel                                        : negative 0.1%
• Alliance Steel, Amsteel and Masteel  :  9.2%
• Others                                                       : 26.2 %

Thailand

• Tata Steel : 2.1%
• Others       : 6.7%

Turkey

• Çolakoğlu         : 7.1%
• Kaptan Demir : 9.1%
• Kroman Çelik  : 8.5%
• Others               : 36.4%

Vietnam

• Vina Kyoei        : 9.6%

The products currently fall under the codes 7214.20.00, 7228.30.10, 7228.30.90, and 7228.60.10.

The commission has found that the given products exported from Malaysia (except for Southern Steel), Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam (except for Hoa Phat) at dumped prices appear to have caused material injury to the Australian industry. In addition, the commission stated that Indonesia-based companies Pt Ispat Panca Putera and Pt Putra Baja Deli did not make sales of rebar to Australia or exported with negligible dumped margins in the given period.

Accordingly, preliminary dumping margins are determined at

• 9.2 percent for Malaysia-based Alliance Steel, Amsteel Mills, Ann Joo Steel, Malaysia Steel Works
• 26.2 percent for all other Malaysian companies;
• 3.1 percent for Thailand-based Tata Steel Manufacturing (Thailand) Public Company Limited
• 6.7 percent for all other Thai exporters;
• 7.7 percent for Turkey-based Colakoglu Metalurji A.S,
• 8.6 percent for Turkey-based Kroman Celik Sanayii A.Ş.,
• 9.1 percent for Turkey-based Kaptan Demir Celik Endustrisi ve Ticaret A.Ş.
• 36.4 percent for all other Turkish producers;
• 9.5 percent for Vietnam-based Tung Ho Steel Vietnam Corporation, VAS Group Nghi Son Joint Stock Company and Vina Kyoei Steel Company,
• 17.3 percent for all other Vietnamese exporters.

The products currently fall under the codes 7214.20.00, 7228.30.10, 7228.30.90, and 7228.60.10.

The final report for the investigation, which covers the period between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, will be published on December 18, 2025, instead of November 19, 2025.

The products, in various diameters up to and including 50 mm, subject to the investigation are classified under the Customs Tariff Statistics Position Numbers 7214.20.00, 7228.30.10, 7228.30.90, and 7228.60.10.

The investigations were initiated following the petitions filed by US-based law firm Wiley Rein LLP, alleging that the producers in the given countries are benefiting from government subsidies and selling reinforcing bars in the US at unfairly low prices.

The US International Trade Commission must reach a preliminary determination in the investigations within 45 days after the date on which the petitions were filed on June 4, 2025.

In the first two months this year, the US imported 57,206 mt, 78,644 mt, 26,466 mt and 35,200 mt of reinforcing bars from Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt, and Vietnam, respectively.

The products currently fall under the codes 7213.10.0000, 7214.20.0000, and 7228.30.8010.

The global long steel products market is oversupplied and overcrowded. The situation has worsened and is now structural. The competition in the global market is predatory.  Margins are dead. The only strategy is cashflow and turnover. Whoever can ship first, wins. Whoever negotiates for $5/mt more, loses the order. Every confirmed business is a major success. Moreover, without the US market, competition may become brutal.

Latest US blanket 50 percent Section 232 duty marks unprecedented shift

The latest US decision to impose a blanket 50 percent Section 232 duty on all steel imports marks an unprecedented shift – one that severely impacts importers while handing a windfall to domestic producers. Although there was previously a similar measure targeting imports from Turkey, this universal application is unparalleled. What makes this especially jarring is its immediate enforcement, affecting cargoes due to arrive soon, offering no transition period or due process. This abruptness feels inconsistent with the values and principles we have long associated with the US marketplace – predictability, fairness, and rule of law.

New US decision cuts its market off from rest of world, importers handed long vacation

If the 50 percent Section 232 duty holds, it may ironically render the US the most expensive steel market globally, shutting it off from the world at a time when collaboration and balance are most needed. It seems importers in the US have been handed a long, scorching summer of vacation, just as they brace to absorb the financial fallout of all US-bound cargoes. These are extraordinary times and must be navigated with clarity, unity, and resolve.

Demand still weak in Europe and Turkey, with imports putting pressure on prices

Demand is still soft in the European market and imports are putting a ceiling on any potential price increases. Unless there is an actual pickup in end-user consumption, prices will hover at current levels or drop, especially if more cheap Asian billet flows in. Demand in Turkey is still lacking also, but more important is that, with the current iron ore and coal prices, there will be more supply pressure from Far Eastern and Southeast Asian suppliers. Far Eastern and Southeast Asian origin steel billet prices are going down almost every day.

Scrap-based producers falling behind in terms of costs

Scrap-based producers are getting priced out. Billet from Asia is cheaper than melting scrap. There is almost no point in running a melt-shop when you can just roll. This shift reshuffles power, as cheap billet exporters win and EAF-based mills are now considered high-cost producers.

Chinese long steel exporters start to push out Southeast Asians

Southeast Asian mills, who had dominated the market, are now being quietly pushed out by China. Chinese long product exports surged by over 100 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2025. Reduced blast furnace costs, falling domestic demand, and export subsidies mean this wave of Chinese exports will not slow as it is policy-driven, not market-driven. A serious displacement is taking place. Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia are all fighting for markets. Even South Korean mills, who were deemed to be bulletproof previously, are now closing lines for the first time in decades. China is stable, but prices are not going up and their steel is cheap, hoping for new export markets. Oil prices are also weak which is good for some players in the steel market, terrible for others.

Market currently very unstable, outlook unsatisfactory, seems to depend on political decisions

The market is currently very unstable. No one is making money. Everyone is quoting, but very few are actually booking orders. The outlook is unsatisfactory and seems to depend on political decisions.

OECD: Some brighter prospects in ASEAN and MENA regions

The recently published OECD Steel Outlook 2025 states, “Demand in the OECD area will remain roughly constant, while Chinese demand will decline appreciably due to the downturn in construction and structural shifts in China’s economy. Prospects are brighter in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) areas, where demand will grow strongly.”

DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?  

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT AND SHARE YOUR OPINION WITH US        

The determined dumping margins are as follows:

• Jiangsu Shagang (China) : 34.0 percent
• All other Chinese companies : 46.2 percent
• Suez Steel (Egypt) : 8.6 percent
• All other companies in Egypt : 21.3 percent
• Hoa Phat Dung Quat Steel (Vietnam) : 17.7 percent
• Hoa Phat Hai Duong Steel (Vietnam) : 13.5 percent

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal is continuing its inquiry into the question of injury to the domestic industry and will make a finding by October 4, 2024.

The products subject to the preliminary duty currently fall under Customs Tariff Statistics Position Numbers

• 7213.91.00.42,
• 7213.91.00.43,
• 7213.91.00.49,
• 7213.91.00.50,
• 7213.91.00.60,
• 7213.91.00.70,
• 7213.99.00.11,
• 7213.99.00.12,
• 7213.99.00.31,
• 7213.99.00.32,
• 7213.99.00.51,
• 7213.99.00.52,
• 7227.20.00.20,
• 7227.20.00.90,
• 7227.90.00.60,
• 7227.90.00.70,
• 7227.90.00.81,
• 7227.90.00.82,
• 7227.90.00.83

The estimated dumping margins are as follows:

• China : 50.9 percent and 71.1 percent
• Egypt : 49.7 percent and 99.8 percent
• Vietnam : 6.1 percent, 18.3 percent, 38.9 percent

The products subject to the preliminary duty currently fall under the below listed Customs Tariff Statistics Position Numbers:

• 7213.91.00.42,
• 7213.91.00.43,
• 7213.91.00.49,
• 7213.91.00.50,
• 7213.91.00.60,
• 7213.91.00.70,
• 7213.99.00.11,
• 7213.99.00.12,
• 7213.99.00.31,
• 7213.99.00.32,
• 7213.99.00.51,
• 7213.99.00.52,
• 7227.20.00.20,
• 7227.20.00.90,
• 7227.90.00.60,
• 7227.90.00.70,
• 7227.90.00.81,
• 7227.90.00.82,
• 7227.90.00.83.

At the opening of the conference, Murat Cebecioglu, chairman of IREPAS, emphasized that demand in the global long steel products market continues to lag behind supply. He added that the situation was getting worse because of China’s aggressive export policy and that Chinese exporters would continue to be aggressive, which of course would drive other Asian exporters to be aggressive also.

The IREPAS chairman said the situation in the global long steel products market is deteriorating, adding that there is huge uncertainty on what the next couple of quarters will bring for the global long products market, where it seems the situation will be extremely difficult.

On the last day of the conference, producers of long steel products, as well as traders and raw material suppliers, shared the conclusions reached at their special committee meetings regarding the current situation in the markets with the general participants at the event.

Raw Material Suppliers at IREPAS: General market mood hopeful for improvement

Jens Björkman, the chairman of the raw material suppliers committee, summarized the committee meeting findings regarding the general situation in the global steel and raw material markets, noting that the markets have been struggling this year compared to the past few years amid the worsening of economies due to high inflation and interest rates. However, he stated that the general mood is hopeful for a return to something slightly more forward-looking and optimistic.

Regarding Western countries, he stated that high interest rates and inflation have been putting pressure on scrap generation in the US and the EU, and added that the interest rates in the EU are expected to be cut during the spring. With the anticipated increase in scrap demand due to electric arc furnace investments especially in the US, Canada and Europe, Mr. Björkman noted that scrap flows will change significantly in the next 10 years, regionalizing scrap generation where scrap demand is high. In addition, he stated that steel producers have started to look for alternatives to scrap like pig iron, HBI and DRI to cover their needs for raw material. Indicating that scrap generation in Europe is down by 15-50 percent depending on the part of the region, Björkman said that, with the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), European scrap suppliers will try to keep scrap volumes within the regional market, reducing scrap exports from the region especially to Turkey, which operates mostly with electric arc furnaces and has significant demand for scrap.

Looking at China, noting that the country’s economy was expected to rebound after the Chinese New Year holiday but that these expectations did not materialize, he stated that China’s economy is going through a period of normalization. Meanwhile, pointing out that before the recent rebound iron ore prices had fallen to $100/mt CFR in the first quarter this year from the higher-than-expected level last year of $120/mt CFR, he said that the factors contributing to the price drop included high iron ore inventories at Chinese ports, slow demand and lower steel production. He concluded by saying that the market in China is adjusting to the lack of recovery of demand after the Chinese New Year holiday, adding that he expects iron ore prices to remain at quite high levels.

Traders at IREPAS: Global demand to be supplied locally, market conditions lead to regionalization

F. D. Baysal, the chairman of the traders committee, stated that there is demand globally but that it will be supplied locally, adding that ongoing trade tensions, global conflicts and political instability have changed trade routes, resulting in regionalization.

Looking at the other factors that lead to regionalization, Mr. Baysal expressed the view that the EU’s safeguard measures will be extended for another two years and that its quota volume adjustment will be minimal if any. Regarding the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, he stated that it will put pressure on other countries, especially on blast furnace-based producers.

Remarking that Turkey’s export markets have been limited due to the US safeguard measures, the EU quota restrictions and the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the chairman of the traders committee stated that there are still some export opportunities for the country, including Syria, Iraq, eastern Europe, Africa and possibly Yemen. In addition, noting that the shipping crisis in the Red Sea has affected freight rates and container shipments a lot more than bulk shipments, shipments had to be shifted from containers to bulk, leading to additional costs.

Looking at China, Baysal said that the low steel demand in the country amid cancelled infrastructure projects has resulted in an increase in the country’s exports, with China dominating the global market with its lower prices and higher quality of steel, leading the strong competition. He also cited the Chinese Metallurgical Industry Institute’s prediction for a 1.7 percent drop in China’s steel demand in 2024, after a 3.3 percent decline in 2023, while further noting that China’s steel export volume increased by 14 percent year on year in the first quarter, though the value of its steel exports during this period was down by 20 percent year on year.

Producers at IREPAS: Low demand and Chinese exports weigh heavily on global steel market

Murat Cebecioğlu, chairman of IREPAS and also chairman of the producers committee, shared with participants the conclusions reached by producers regarding the current situation in the markets. He said that the GCC region is more optimistic in terms of business given the big infrastructure projects in the pipeline there, while market conditions in Egypt are getting better and better as the country’s currency issue has mostly been resolved, though the Suez Canal crisis remains a challenge. In some EU markets, the economy is picking up and inflation seems to be under control, while in others demand still remains quite low.

Commenting on the situation in China, the hot topic at the conference, Mr. Cebecioğlu said that Chinese exports will definitely affect the global market negatively and will reach high levels as they did back in 2015. However, this time the number of export markets is limited because of protectionism and Chinese exports will be more problematic in terms of competition. He went on to say that, apart from China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam are also exporting heavily and competing with each other. This will affect other suppliers and, as one of the biggest long steel exporters, Turkey is already feeling the effects, the chairman of the producers committee noted. Chinese exports are also taking a toll on the EU market, which is also struggling with very low demand especially in the northern part of the region.

Other exporters to the EU have to deal with quota measures as well as the Chinese competition. Cebecioğlu said the EU will most probably extend its quotas for another two years and, with new suppliers such as the GCC and North Africa, things will be tough this year before picking up and getting better next year.

Responding to a question regarding how Turkish mills managed to increase production in the first quarter of the current year, the committee chairman said that, in terms of sales, the first quarter this year was much better than the corresponding period last year. Turkish mills were able to sell considerable amounts to the EU and, with the quotas opening up, they had a window for exports. Commenting on the reconstruction works in Turkey’s southern region which was devastated by earthquakes last year, Cebecioğlu stated, “Construction activity has already started in the region, and it is mainly the mills in the region that are benefitting from all this. Since export activity is very low, this gives these mills a little bit of a break, and also funding should not be a problem as these projects are being financed by the government.”

The CBSA will investigate whether the imports are being dumped and will make a preliminary decision within 90 days, at which time provisional duties may apply.

The products subject to antidumping duty investigation currently fall under Customs Tariff Statistics Position Numbers 7213.91.00.42, 7213.91.00.43, 7213.91.00.49, 7213.91.00.50, 7213.91.00.60, 7213.91.00.70, 7213.99.00.11, 7213.99.00.12, 7213.99.00.31, 7213.99.00.32, 7213.99.00.51, 7213.99.00.52, 7227.20.00.20, 7227.20.00.90, 7227.90.00.60, 7227.90.00.70, 7227.90.00.81, 7227.90.00.82, and 7227.90.00.83.