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The European Union (EU) has initiated an anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of aluminum extrusions originating in the People’s Republic of China. The European Commission received a complaint on January 3, 2020 by European Aluminium on behalf of seven producers representing more than 25 % of the total Union production of aluminum extrusions.
The products subject to this investigation include bars, rods, profiles (whether or not hollow), tubes, pipes; unassembled; whether or not prepared for use in structures (e.g. cut-to-length, drilled, bent, chamfered or threaded); made from aluminum, whether or not alloyed, containing not more than 99.3% of aluminum.
Products not covered by the investigation include:
- Products attached to form subassemblies;
- Welded tubes and pipes; and
- Products in a packaged kit with the necessary parts to assemble a finished product without further finishing or fabrication of the parts.
Therefore, linear extrusions that can be fabricated into curtainwall, storefront or other glazing extrusions are covered under the investigation. However, if the extrusions are imported to the EU from China pre-fabricated, they will not be covered by this investigation.
The complaint alleges that raw material distortions are resulting in prices that are lower than those quoted on international markets of the same product.
“Since Chinese aluminum capacities systematically exceed domestic demand, an increasing number of producers have – government-incentivized – focused primarily on export markets and in particular the EU. This overcapacity and the consequences thereof are also identified in the report issued by the EU Chamber of Commerce in Beijing,” reads the notice.
The investigation of dumping and injury will cover the period from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019. The examination of trends relevant for the assessment of injury will cover the period from January 1, 2016 until the end of the investigation period.
Interested parties have 37 days from the publication of the notice (February 14, 2020) to provide comments on the complaint and investigation initiation.
“Chinese imports have risen in EU nations over the last few years. This action has been rumored for years, but now, under the leadership of the European Aluminum Association, the countries that make up the EU have decided to move forward. Their action follows similar efforts by the United States, Canada, Australia and several other countries across the world,” reads a statement from the Aluminum Extruders Council in support of the move.
In March 2019 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision ruling that Chinese curtainwall is subject to U.S. tariffs on aluminum extrusions imported from China. One difference in the scope of that ruling is that it includes finished good kits and fabricated extrusions.
