Importance of the participation of interested third parties

Any interested parties may participate in the investigation, contributing with elements to secure a more favorable outcome. According to the opening Circular, the authority will only send questionnaires to producers/exporters. However, this does not prevent importers from actively participating, being that companies that do not automatically qualify as an interested third party (such as importers of the product under review) have a 20-day deadline to request their qualification in the proceeding (until 21 November 2023).

More details

The existing antidumping duty against Brazilian imports of cold-rolled steel from China was originally established by CAMEX Resolution No. 79 of 3 October 2013, and extended by SECINT Ordinance No. 4,353 of 1 October 2019.

In more detail, the product covered by the measure was defined as "flat products of austenitic stainless steel type 304 (304, 304L and 304H) and ferritic stainless steel type 430, cold-rolled, with a thickness equal to or greater than 0.35 mm but less than 4.75 mm".

Its main uses are as follows:

• Type 304 cold rolled steel is used in the manufacture of towers, tubes, tanks, general, deep and precision stamping, with diverse applications such as household utensils, cryogenic installations, distilleries, photography, as well as in the aeronautical, railway, shipbuilding, petrochemical, pulp and paper, textile, refrigeration, hospital, food, dairy, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and chemical industries, among others.
• Type 430 cold rolled steel is used in a variety of applications, such as cutlery, tableware, kitchen sinks, stoves, washing machine tanks, dishwashers and microwave ovens, coin minting, among others. This type of steel is also used in counter coverings and telephone cabinets.

According to the domestic producer, the stainless steel of the 2xx series and of the AISI 410 type that Chinese producers and exporters began to export to Brazil are products with only marginal modifications in relation to the product subject to the antidumping measure, which do not alter their use or final destination, and therefore fall within the hypothesis of circumvention provided for in Article 121, III, of the Brazilian Antidumping Decree.

Due to the alleged circumvention, the domestic producer requests an extension of the scope of the current antidumping measure, so that it also covers stainless steels of the 2xx series and of the AISI 410 type.

For reference, the antidumping rates currently applied on Brazilian imports of cold rolled steel (types 304 and 430) from China are listed below:

Source: SECINT's Order nº 4.353/2019

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