Malaysia has started a review of antidumping duties imposed on stranded steel wires for prestressing concrete (PC strand) originating or exported from China, a note from Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry showed, paving the way for a possible revision of the existing duties.

The review stemmed from a request by Southern PC Steel Sdn Bhd, a domestic manufacturer of the long steel product, based on the grounds that there was a substantial change in the dumping margin for the imports of the steel item from China, the ministry said Aug. 8.

The current five-year tariffs of 2.09%, 9.47% and 21.72% took effect on Dec. 25, 2021, and are due to expire on Dec. 24, 2026.

The tariffs cove PC strands classified under HS codes and ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) 7312109100. The review will run from Aug. 8, 2024 to Feb. 3, 2025.

The review comes as Malaysia long steel imports rose 22.5% year on year to 1.8 million mt in 2023, data from the South East Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI) showed.

SEAISI said Aug. 9 that Malaysian wire rod inflows increased in 2023 to 664,000 mt, recording an increase of 38% year on year.

Also, Malaysia’s review comes amid concerns that high levels of steel exports from China will put downward pressure on global steel markets in 2024.