Taipei (The China Post/ANN) - The Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association (TSIIA) yesterday protested against Indonesian authorities who ruled that Taiwan steel exporters are guilty of dumping and vowed to appeal the issue.
The regulatory body Komite Anti Dumping Indonesia (KADI), yesterday said it would penalise Taiwanese steel exporters by raising the anti-dumping duty of hot rolled coil from 0 to 14.69 per cent, effective in March.
KADI chairman Bachrul Chairi asserted that the commodity is being sold in Indonesia at prices below production costs or lower-than-home-market prices.
"We've concluded that the product (from the five countries) is still being dumped on the local market and if we lift the duty, it will hurt our industry," said Bachrul on February 7 in Jakarta.
The TSIIA indicated that since last April, Indonesian authorities have been investigating the alleged dumping, but throughout the entire period there had been no public hearings, and no opportunities for Taiwanese steel exporters to mount a legal defence.
The TSIIA also stated that Indonesian authorities are in violation of code 5.8 and 9.2 of World Trade Organisation guidelines, while citing the precedent of a case involving the import of rice involving the US and Mexico.
In contrast to precedents, where previously certified exporters are exempt from further anti-dumping probes, or at least have their anti-dumping duties unchanged, the Indonesian authorities have raised duties from 0 to 14.69 per cent for all Taiwanese steel exporters.
In response, the China Steel Company stated that its quarterly export volume for hot rolled coil to Indonesia averages at 20,000 tonnes, while indicating that they have complied in every way with Indonesian authorities in its anti-dumping investigation.
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