Ukraine's Jan exports of ferroalloys up 13.8% on year

Ukraine's exports of ferroalloys rose 13.8% year-on-year to 77,870 mt in January from 68,450 mt a year earlier, the state statistics service reported Tuesday.

At the same time, revenues from exports of ferroalloys rose 12.5% to $88.9 million from $79 million in January 2017, the statistics service said.

In January, Ukraine exported 13,360 of ferroalloys to Turkey, 11,300 mt to the Netherlands, 8,350 mt to Italy, 3,670 mt to the Great Britain, 3,290 mt to Romania, 3,060 mt to Finland and 2,950 mt to Slovakia.

Ukraine exported 59,250 mt of silicomanganese in January, up from 49,410 mt in January 2017. Exports of ferrosilicon fell to 4,510 mt from 4,640 mt, but exports of ferromanganese, including metallic manganese, increased to 8,930 mt from 8,850 mt.

Exports of ferronickel fell to 4,370 mt in January from 5,360 mt, but exports of ferrotitanium rose to 400 mt from 180 mt in January 2017.

In 2017 Ukraine exported 936,700 mt of ferroalloys, up 7.7% from 869,690 mt 2016.

US proposes anti-dumping duties on Chinese aluminum foil

The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday recommended raising import duties on Chinese-made aluminum foil it said is being sold at unfairly low prices due to improper subsidies to producers.

 

Beijing faces complaints from the United States, European Union and other trading partners that a flood of Chinese aluminum, steel and other exports are being sold at unfairly low prices.

 

The Commerce Department said it concluded Chinese exporters were selling aluminum foil at 49 to 106 percent below fair value and were receiving unfair subsidies of 17 to 81 percent of the goods' value.

 

"China will take necessary measures to defend its interests in response to the wrong practice of the United States," said a Commerce Ministry official, Wang Hejun, in a statement.

 

The American Chamber of Commerce in China says Chinese officials have warned of possible unspecified retaliation if Washington took excessive steps in trade disputes.

EU imposes anti-dumping duties on iron castings from China

The European Commission has set definitive anti-dumping duties on iron castings imported from China, in a latest trade measure against the country.

The duties range from 15.5 percent to 38.1 percent on the imports, which are a family of products that include for instance manhole covers and grates used in street drainage, according to the European Union's official journal on Tuesday.

An investigation was initiated in December 2016 following a complaint from seven EU producers concerning products from China and India. The investigation found there to be no dumping in the case of India.

The EU applied anti-dumping measures for the same product imported from China already in the past between 2005 and 2011.

The definitive duties are lower than the provisional duties, set in August 2017, of between 25.3 and 42.8 percent.

The Commission has 53 measures now in place on steel and iron products, including 27 on products coming from China.

A spokesperson with China's Ministry of Commerce said last week that the country is against abuse of trade measures such as anti-dumping duties.

The Supreme Court is looking at legalizing sports betting in India

The Supreme Court of India is considering whether sports betting and gambling could be allowed legally in India. Currently, online betting and gambling is outlawed and can attract a fine and imprisonment for individuals running a gambling house.

However, the state of Sikkim has issued online gambling licences in 2010 but only but over an intranet, blocking access from the rest of India. The state government of Sikkim has authorized four gaming and lottery licenses – to Sugal & Damani Group, Future Gaming Group and Essel Group’s Playwin and  Golden Gaming. Note that only three states allow casinos in India – Goa, Daman and Sikkim.

The SC said that it will take up the public interest litigation as part of reforms in Cricket and petitioners argued that the legalized betting and gambling in sports would curb match-fixing and generate revenue for the government. Currently, there are a number of websites offer bets on Cricket matches.

The BBC points out that there even though there are no online betting operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore firms and operators are using this to set up offshore betting companies.

How big is betting in India: The Federation of Indian Chambers and Commerce and Industry (FICCI) estimates the total turnover of the betting market at Rs 300,000 crores ($60bn). If the government caps the 20% of the profits generated by gambling, the government stands to gain Rs 12,000- Rs 19,000 crore.

US aluminum industry files dumping action against Chinese foil

The antidumping margins alleged by the domestic industry range from 38% to more than 134% of the value of the imported aluminum foil. The domestic industry's countervailing duty petition alleges that Chinese producers benefit from 27 separate government subsidy programs.

The petitions were filed concurrently with the US Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission and apply to aluminum foil that is used in a variety of consumer and industrial applications. These include household foil, flexible and semi-rigid cookware, product packaging, automotive and HVAC heat exchangers, among other common uses.

"This action is part of the industry's broad trade strategy to address Chinese overcapacity throughout the value chain," the association said in a statement. According to Heidi Brock, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association, this action -- the first time the Aluminum Association has filed unfair trade cases on behalf of its members in its nearly 85-year history -- "reflects both the intensive injury being suffered by US aluminum foil producers and also our commitment to ensuring that trade laws are enforced to create a level playing field for domestic producers."

Iran to abolish controls on iron ore

Iran is set to lift government controls on iron ore pricing in the domestic market, Tasnim News Agency reported Wednesday, citing the minister of economic affairs and finance, Ali Tayebnia.

Tayebnia was quoted as saying there was a large gap between domestic iron ore prices and international levels, which the government would address by amending the mechanism that determines prices for domestically produced ore.

Tayebnia also said pricing on the Iran Mercantile Exchange (IME) was based on supply and demand and was, therefore, an appropriate way to discover a practical, as well a clear, price for iron ore.

The IME said in January it would launch iron ore trading for the domestic market from February, though no trades of domestic ore have been reported.

Anti-dumping duty on some steel products from China

India has extended anti-dumping duty on some steel products from China by five years, in a bid to retain protectionist barriers and stem the tide of cheap foreign products.

The long-term measure, on the import of seamless tubes, pipes and hollow profiles of iron, alloy or non-alloy steel, stands effective as of May 17 last year when the government had imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty, according to the circular.

Indian steelmakers such as JSW Steel, Tata Steel, and Steel Authority of India have lobbied for more measures to protect them from cheaper imports from China, Japan and South Korea.