MinCIT opens antidumping investigation into Chinese and Turkish steel profiles

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, through the Directorate of Foreign Trade, ordered the start of an administrative investigation into alleged dumping in imports of L-shaped and U-shaped iron or steel profiles originating from China and Turkey. The decision is contained in Resolution 695 of 2026, issued on October 16, 2026, and published in the Official Gazette number 53,663 on Monday, October 19, 2026, in which evidence of dumping was identified with relative margins of 44.90% for the Chinese origin and 27.94% for the Turkish origin.

The legal framework and who requested the investigation

The opening is based on Decree 1074 of 2015, whose Chapter 7 of Title 3 of Part 2 of Book 2 was added by Decree 1794 of 2020, and on the Anti-Dumping Agreement of the World Trade Organization, incorporated into national legislation by Law 170 of 1994. The authority to order the opening corresponds to the Directorate of Foreign Trade, based on numeral 5 of article 18 of Decree Law 210 of 2003, modified by Decree 1289 of 2015.

The request was submitted by DIACO S. A. and TERNIUM COLOMBIA S. A. S., who proved that they jointly represent 100% of the national production of the similar product. Filing number 69 is dated June 29, 2026, and was processed in the Dumping, Subsidies and Safeguards Application. In the initial petition, margins of 155% for China and 28% for Turkey were alleged; following the information requests of July, August, and September 2026, the deadline to decide on the merits was extended until October 16, 2026.

The calculated margins and the investigated product

The product subject to the investigation comprises iron or steel profiles, alloyed or non-alloyed, in L and U shapes, simply hot-rolled or hot-extruded, with a height less than or equal to 101.60 mm (4 inches), classified under tariff subheadings 7216.10.00.00, 7216.21.00.00, 7216.31.00.00, 7216.40.00.00, and 7228.70.00.00.

• China: normal value of 793.28 USD/ton and FOB export price of 547.48 USD/ton, with an absolute margin of 245.80 USD/ton, equivalent to 44.90% of the export price.
• Turkey: weighted average FOB export price of 655 USD/ton and an absolute margin of 183 USD/ton, equivalent to 27.94%.
• Dumping period analyzed: from June 29, 2025, to June 28, 2026.
• Methodology for China: the Investigating Authority preliminarily concluded that there is significant state intervention, therefore the normal value was established using export statistics to third countries from the EUROSTAT source.

The alleged injury to national production

The resolution reports evidence of significant injury to the investigated production line when comparing the critical period (2025-II) with the reference period (2023-I to 2025-I). Among the declining indicators are the production volume oriented toward the domestic market (-12.21%), national sales (-11.24%), the use of installed capacity (-5.27 percentage points), productivity (-3.70%), direct employment (-8.90%), and the implicit real price (-12.99%). On the financial front, drops of 20.38% in sales revenue, 33.64% in gross profit, and 52.14% in operating profit were recorded.

Regarding trade flows, imports originating from China rose from 3,131 to 7,634 tons (+143.81%), while those from Turkey fell from 7,207 to 1,464 tons (-79.68%). Apparent national consumption contracted by 10.41%, a factor that the authority identified as a possible cause other than dumping and which must be examined separately.

Questionnaires, notice, and interested parties

The resolution orders the summoning of interested parties via a notice published in the Official Gazette to present opinions and evidence, the sending of questionnaires to known importers, exporters, and foreign producers, and the communication of the decision to the diplomatic representatives of China and Turkey in Colombia. No appeal is permitted against this act as it is an administrative act of a general nature, and it takes effect from its publication in the Official Gazette.

The investigation covers steel mills, importers, and the construction sector, the primary demander of structural profiles. The authority warned that information on imports, dumping, and injury will be updated to the first half of 2026 and that the eventual imposition of provisional or definitive duties will require the determinations and guarantees inherent to the subsequent stages.

Source: Official Gazette, Edition 53,663, Monday, October 19, 2026, section I, p. 3 (official reference: Resolution 695 of 2026).