Interpipe negotiates individual import duties to Customs Union

Interpipe (INPIP) announced on August 23 that it is fully collaborating with the Eurasian Economic Commission in its negotiations to secure individual tariffs for pipe imports to the Customs Union. The company said it offered the necessary confidential information requested by the Commission. Russian media reported in mid-August that the information submitted by Interpipe was incomplete, and that the Commission will decide on individual rates for Interpipe pipes not in September, as previously planned, but potentially in April 2014.

Roman Topolyuk: After the Commission didn’t renew its quotas to Interpipe for supplying pipes to the Customs Union for 2H13, it applied antidumping duties of 18.9-37.8% starting July 2013. Most probably, they made supplying pipes to Russia unprofitable for Interpipe, which threatens the sale of 28% of the company’s products. The process of obtaining individual rates for Interpipe is influenced by worsening Ukrainian and Russian trade relations. An inability to diversify its huge sales volume (if the Russian market remains closed befcause of high duties) may impact Interpipe’s earnings, bringing its net debt/EBITDA ratio from 2.6x in 2012 to 3.4x in 2013 and 3.9x in 2014.