Ilyashev & Partners initiates Ukraine’s first anti-circumvention investigation of anti-dumping duties

Ilyashev & Partners has initiated the first anti-circumvention investigation of anti-dumping duties in Ukraine’s history.

As a result of the coordinated efforts of the team led by partner Olena Omelchenko, the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade initiated an investigation into the circumvention of the anti-dumping measures imposed by the Commission’s decision No. AD-546/2023/441-01 dated 13 July 2023. These measures were introduced for five years and apply to imports into Ukraine of prepainted galvanized steel coils originating from the People’s Republic of China.

The complaints filed by domestic producers, represented by the firm, provided compelling evidence that the effect of the anti-dumping duty on imports from China may have been undermined by the supply of similar products from Malaysia and through the artificial understatement of customs value, which serves as the basis for calculating customs payments, including anti-dumping duties.

As a result of the investigation’s initiation, the anti-dumping duty on prepainted galvanized steel coils originating from China – ranging from 30.76% to 48.14% – was extended to cover imports of similar products from Malaysia. The decision to extend the duty takes effect 10 days after the relevant announcement is published in the official gazette Uryadovyi Kurier.

This marks the first-ever application in Ukraine of Article 27 of the Law of Ukraine On Protection of the National Producer from Dumped Imports dated 22 December 1998, No. 330-XIV, which provides for the possibility of initiating a special anti-dumping investigation in duty evasion cases. It sets a precedent for the state’s response to shifts in trade patterns and circumvention schemes that have previously fallen outside legal regulation. For the first time, anti-dumping duties will be collected from the moment of investigation initiation and deposited into a treasury account opened by the State Treasury Service of Ukraine in the name of the State Customs Service of Ukraine. The Commission introduced for the first time a mechanism for depositing funds to ensure the payment of duties and VAT.

The original anti-dumping investigation into imports into Ukraine of prepainted galvanized steel coils classified under UCGFEA (Ukrainian Classification of Goods for Foreign Economic Activity) codes 7210 70, 7210 90, and 7212 40 was initiated on 14 December 2020, based on a complaint prepared by Ilyashev & Partners. It was one of the largest anti-dumping investigations in Ukraine’s history, both in terms of import volumes and the number of parties involved, including importers and Chinese manufacturers.