At the summit in Dubai addressed the protection of the middle East market

From 17 to 19 October in Dubai hosted the Arab Steel Summit 2016. On it representatives of certain steel companies demanded the introduction of measures aimed at protecting the middle East market. Today it is included in the list of the most public hotspots for foreign steel shipments. Demands for more protectionist policy was justified by a number of factors. Mentioned increasing exports of steel from China. According to present it is carried out at low cost and supported by public subsidies.

I expressed my opinion Ziad Cutini being a regional Director, Arab Iron and Steel Union (Syria). The cost of steel products of Chinese steelmakers is the lowest in the world. This is possible due to the fact that the government supports the metallurgical sector. Regional steel manufacturing requires protection from imported steel products. Import means entering Arab markets at subsidized cost. The representatives of the companies did not require the introduction of aggressive measures. It was not about the high tariffs and anti-dumping investigations in respect of the regional market. It was suggested to consider increasing import taxes on incoming rental up to 15%. The measure is currently considering in the UAE.

To date, only a few countries in the UAE restrict the import of steel products. For example, in Algeria quotas on imported rolled steel. Morocco has adopted anti-dumping tariffs on steel products from Turkey, EU. GCC countries are investigating the claims in the imported volumes of galvanized steel. But in a fairly short time, the number of constraints can be significantly increased. The US and the EU are actively removed from the private markets for Chinese products. Accordingly, Chinese steelmakers increase the volumes supplied by the middle East countries. Take, for example, 2013. During this period, the purchasing volume of Chinese products in the Arab countries was 3 million tonnes. The list does not included pipe products. But in 2016, the imported volumes could reach 9 million tons. Three years ago, China’s share in the total volume imported by countries in the region, accounted for 10.4%. This year the figure is expected to rise to the level of 26.5%. Is it any wonder a growing protectionist sentiment in the global steel market.