Fresh EU tariffs on Chinese steel imports are expected to impact demand for breakbulk shipments, as industrial firms importing heavy steel plate cargoes face duties of up to 73.7 percent.

Earlier this month, the European Commission announced plans to impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel products of 65.1 percent to 73.7 percent for heavy plates and 13.2 percent to 22.6 percent for hot-rolled steel.

“The commission will decide within the coming six months whether to reconfirm these measures for the period of the coming few years. At that moment, the commission will also be able to decide whether to retroactively collect the duties on heavy steel plates imported from China,” a European Commission said in a statement.

Heavy steel plates are widely imported by breakbulk carriers for a wide range of application including wind farms, oil platforms, shipbuilding, bridge-building, pressure vessels, pipelines and heavy equipment, such as earth movers and graders.

“A revised EU anti-dumping regulation, which includes the EU’s five market economy criteria, with the burden of proof in dumping cases staying with exporters to the EU. We believe the EU’s anti-dumping methodology should be closely aligned with the non-standard methodology applied by the US,” the commission said.

An open letter from Eurofer, the European Steel Association, to the EU has called for even tougher measures with a “revised EU anti-dumping regulation” which will force “the burden of proof in dumping cases” to those firms exporting to the EU.