ASEAN steel Commission (Asic) has recently said ASEAN steel manufacturers are jointly requiring a review of ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement. Mainly that the trade agreement make China's steel import duties be exempted, leading to the surge in China's steel imports in recent years.

Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam steel mills have jointly sent a letter to the ASEAN Secretariat, expressed concern about China's steel imports’ influx of the local market for the last three years, and requested to classify this problem to a meeting agenda of the ASEAN Free Trade Area.

ASIC released a data show that during the first half of 2012, the six countries of ASEAN steel consumption of 27.5 million tons, up only by 4%. How ever, the first nine months of 2012, China's steel exports to ASEAN reached 9.1 million tons, a year-on-year surge of 47.3%. In ASEAN's total steel imports, the proportion of Chinese products is growing year by year, 10% in 2009, to 17% in 2010, 18% in 2011 and further to 23% in the first half of 2012.

                                                                                             XINSTEEL NEWS