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French multinational building materials group Saint-Gobain has taken the fight to Chinese and Saudi importers whom it accuses of dumping construction products in South Africa, asking the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) to probe the two countries, a request the trade watchdog has acceded to.Saint-Gobain has convinced the commission that imports of boards, sheets, panels and tiles of plaster or of compositions based on plaster from China, South Africa’s largest trading partner, and Saudi Arabia are undercutting the market.Sustainable construction materials provider Etex and Namibia’s Gypsum Industries joined the group, which has manufacturing facilities in South Africa, in its application.The commission on Friday said Saint-Gobain had provided it with prima facie evidence to indicate that the products flagged by the company were imported from China and Saudi Arabia into the domestic market at dumped prices.“The applicant submitted evidence to show that there is price suppression. The applicant’s information indicated a decline in sales and production volumes, profit, productivity, decline in cash flow, return on investment, market share, and increase in inventory,” Itac said.“Two countries are involved in this investigation. The information shows that the imported products from the PRC and Saudi satisfy the criteria to be cumulatively assessed as the margins of dumping for each country are more than 2%, the volume of imports from each country are above negligibility levels, and the imported products compete with each other and also compete with the Sacu [Southern African Customs Union] like product.”Having decided that there is sufficient evidence and a prima facie case to justify the initiation of an antidumping investigation, the commission said its investigation will cover the period from January 1 2023 to December 31 2025, to determine the material injury of the dumped products on local manufacturers.“The applicant submitted information indicating that there is unrestricted disposable capacity of the exporters in PRC and Saudi, significant increase of allegedly dumped imports into the Sacu market which indicates the likelihood of substantially increased importation and that the subject product is entering the Sacu market at prices which will have a suppressing effect on Sacu prices and are likely to increase demand for further imports,” Itac said.“On this basis, the commission found that there was prima facie proof of threat of material injury to the Sacu industry.” Imports, particularly those that enter South Africa’s market at below the cost of production of domestic producers, are increasingly driving local companies out of business.JSE-listed packaging manufacturer Mpact earlier this year issued retrenchment notices in its carton board business, which has been overwhelmed by cheaper imports and the strengthening rand, with nearly 400 jobs on the line. Industrial stalwart Sappi, which traces its roots to South Africa to 1936, last week expressed frustration at the slow pace of government action against cheap imports of office paper, newsprint, and toilet paper from Asia, saying Pretoria’s ties to Brics and the EU are a contributing factor.The multinational, which was founded in South Africa and still derives 26% of its revenue from the country, said urgent remedial action is needed to protect the domestic industry from a surge in imports.
