Interpipe to push against US anti-dumping duties on pipes

Ukraine’s largest pipe producer Interpipe (INPIP)
entered consultations on making an agreement with the United States Department
of Commerce (DoC) that will eliminate the 7.47% anti-dumping duties, according
to a July 17 report by Interfax-Ukraine, which cited an Interpipe press
release. Interpipe’s CFO Denis Morozov said that the US market is important for
the company and that it counts on the new Ukrainian government to support
Interpipe in its talks with the US, according to the release. Meanwhile,
Interpipe will continue selling pipes into the US, Interfax-Ukraine said.

Recall, the previous Interpipe-DoC agreement, under
which Interpipe respected the minimum US selling price set by the DoC, was in effect for five years until July 10. The
DoC decided not to extend the agreement.

Dmytro Khoroshun: We are
skeptical about Interpipe’s ability to negotiate with the DoC, because of the
very fact that the company was unable to persuade the DoC to extend the
existing agreement.

We estimate that if Interpipe continues selling
into the US at the 2018 volumes (about 100 kt), it will lose up to about USD 7
mln in annual revenue and EBITDA due to the duties. Such a loss is about 6% of
the USD 120 mln mentioned in the media as the 2017 EBITDA.