Indonesia applied for consultations on anti-dumping and tariffs on stainless steel products to the World Trade Organization last week.

A representative of the country’s Ministry of Commerce said anti-dumping duties imposed by the European Union on stainless steel from Indonesia had severely reduced exports.

The EU imposed anti-dumping duties of 21% on stainless steel cold-rolled flat product imports from Indonesia last year, which came on top of the anti-dumping duties imposed in November 2021, which ranged between 10.2% and 20.2%.

After the first implementation of anti-dumping duties, Indonesia’s shipments to the European Union fell to about $229 million in 2021, said Djatmiko Bryce Witjaksono, a senior official of the Trade Ministry. After the imposition of additional anti-dumping duties, exports fell to about $40 million in January-November from last year.

According to the representative of the ministry, the volume of exports to the European Union amounted to about $500 million annually, and the introduction of tariffs reduced the competitiveness of Indonesian products. He believes that EU policy does not comply with the rules of the World Trade Organization.

At the same time, the European Union said the tariffs were imposed to counter unfair government subsidies related to corporate financing in China and Indonesia’s ban on nickel ore exports.

Indonesia has banned the export of unprocessed nickel ore since 2020 to attract investment in developing its industry.

Last year, the World Trade Organization ruled in favour of the European Union in a dispute with Indonesia. Meanwhile, the European Union and Indonesia are currently negotiating a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.