VBB assists Ukrainian steel producer, Metinvest, in the review process leading to termination of the anti-dumping measures against Ukrainian hot-rolled steel imports
- 17/02/2023
- News
On 17 February 2023, the European Commission formally terminated the expiry review investigation and repealed the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of hot-rolled flat steel products originating in Ukraine (see the Official Journal publication here). The termination decision of the Commission comes after Metinvest’s arguments that continuation with the investigation would be unwarranted in view of the significant destruction of its production base in Ukraine as well as following EUROFER’s decision to withdraw its request for the initiation of the present expiry review as far as Ukraine is concerned.
Having been Metinvest’s legal partner on EU trade law matters for over a decade, VBB also assisted the Ukrainian group in this review investigation which was initiated amidst the Russian military invasion and after severe damage to Metinvest’s production plants in Mariupol, most notably, Azovstal.
Despite all the challenges, Metinvest’s team in Ukraine was able to collect the necessary data (often interrupted by the bombardments and the electricity cut-offs) for their submission to the Commission at the initial stage of the review process. We are very pleased that these titanic efforts by Metinvest’s local team were not in vain. Van Bael & Bellis wishes to dedicate the successful outcome of the expiry review to all the brave and dedicated personnel of Metinvest who persevere in Ukraine despite the Russian attacks.
The VBB team assisting Metinvest was led by partner Yuriy Rudyuk and senior associate Sergiy Beketov.
