European imports of products fabricated in Asia from Asian stainless steel are growing at 11% annually, but the EU market for them is not growing at 11%, says stainless and specials steels analyst Markus Moll of Austria's SMR.
Some of this tonnage comprises semi-finished items like wire and tube, but some is finished products from pots and pans right up to complex pieces like heat exchangers. Currently the import of such products that used to be made in Europe is running at 750,000 tons/year. Moll told that Chinese mills do not have a cost advantage in the European market, and that the only people who will suffer from any anti-dumping measures will be stainless end users. |
