[How Should Zinc Consumption Be Viewed Against the Backdrop of Geopolitical Conflicts?] Q1 2026 had passed, and the overall recovery in post-holiday consumption was somewhat delayed. How would consumption perform going forward?

Inter-product price spreads are a segment of the rebar spread system characterized by complex logic and abundant trading opportunities. Unlike the spot-futures price spread, which reflects the spot-futures structure, and calendar spreads, which reflect near- and far-term expectations, the core of inter-product price spreads lies in macroeconomic structural adjustment and profit distribution across the industry chain. From the perspective of the industry chain, inter-product price spreads for long steel products are mainly concentrated in the following four areas:

On March 12, 2026, the UK Trade Remedies Authority issued a notice announcing its affirmative final anti-dumping determination on tinplate (Tin Mill Products) originating in China. It determined that Shougang Group had a dumping margin of 27.85, an injury margin of 62.39, and an anti-dumping duty of 27.85; other exporters had a dumping margin of 49.98, an injury margin of 88.00, and an anti-dumping duty of 49.98. It recommended imposing anti-dumping duties on the products concerned from China for a period of five years. The UK HS codes of the products concerned are 7210 11 00 10, 7210 11 00 90, 7210 12 20 10, 7210 12 20 90, 7210 12 80 10, 7210 12 80 90, 7210 50 00 10, 7210 50 00 90, 7210 70 10 15, 7210 70 10 91, 7210 70 80 20, 7210 70 80 25, 7210 70 80 92, 7210 70 80 95, 7210 90 30 00, 7210 90 40 10, 7210 90 40 90, 7210 90 80 20, 7210 90 80 91, 7210 90 80 99, 7212 10 10 00, 7212 10 90 11, 7212 10 90 19, 7212 10 90 90, 7212 30 00 20, 7212 30 00 30, 7212 30 00 80, 7212 40 20 10, 7212 40 20 91, 7212 40 20 93, 7212 40 20 99, 7212 40 80 12, 7212 40 80 15, 7212 40 80 30, 7212 40 80 35, 7212 40 80 80, 7212 40 80 82, 7212 40 80 85, 7212 40 80 87, 7212 50 20 11, 7212 50 20 19, and 7212 50 20 90. The dumping investigation period was from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, and the injury investigation period was from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2024. On September 25, 2024, the UK Trade Remedies Authority issued a notice announcing the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation into tinplate originating in China, upon an application filed by UK enterprise TATA STEEL UKLIMITED. (Compiled and translated from the official website of the UK Trade Remedies Service) Original text: https://www.trade-remedies.service.gov.uk/public/case/AD0062/submission/034ccc6a-89ce-4ac3-bcd5-26464f3fc5be/

Among them, the Gulf region was an important consumer market for China in the Middle East: China’s exports of aluminum plate/sheet and strip to Saudi Arabia reached 42,500 mt, and aluminum foil 58,000 mt; exports of aluminum plate/sheet and strip to the UAE reached 103,500 mt, and aluminum foil 93,800 mt; the other four countries (Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman) accounted for combined exports of about 22,000 mt of aluminum plate/sheet and strip and about 11,000 mt of aluminum foil.

On February 26, 2026, the European Commission announced its final decision on the first anti-dumping sunset review of steel road wheels originating from China. If the current anti-dumping measures were to be lifted, the dumping of the products in question would continue or recur and cause injury to the EU industry. Therefore, it was decided to maintain the anti-dumping duties on the Chinese products: Xingmin Intelligent Transportation Systems Co., Ltd., Tangshan Xingmin Wheels Co., Ltd., Xianning Xingmin Wheels Co., Ltd., and other cooperating enterprises (see the annex to the original announcement for details) will all be subject to a rate of 50.3%, while other companies will face a rate of 66.4%. The measures took effect the day after the announcement. The EU CN (Combined Nomenclature) codes for the products under investigation are ex 8708 70 10, ex 8708 70 99, and ex 8716 90 90 (TARIC codes are 870870 10 80, 8708 70 10 85, 8708 70 99 20, 8708 70 99 80, 8716 90 90 95, and 8716 90 90 97). The period of the dumping investigation for this sunset review was from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, and the period for the analysis of injury to the industry was from January 1, 2021, to the end of the dumping investigation period. The announcement took effect the day after its publication. On February 15, 2019, the European Commission initiated an anti-dumping investigation into steel road wheels originating from China. On March 4, 2020, the European Commission made its final determination on the anti-dumping investigation of steel road wheels from China. On March 3, 2025, the European Commission launched the first anti-dumping sunset review investigation into steel road wheels from China. (Compiled from: European Commission website) Original text: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L_202600428

【SMM Steel】The Canada Border Services Agency launched an anti-dumping investigation on February 2, 2026, targeting oil and gas well casing from Austria. Following a complaint from Tenaris Canada, the inquiry examines whether these imports cause injury to the domestic market. Preliminary findings are due within 90 days, which could lead to the imposition of provisional duties. The scope includes welded or seamless carbon or alloy steel casing and green tube casing with outside diameters between 114.3 mm and 245.2 mm, which must meet API 5CT or equivalent standards. The investigation specifically excludes drill pipe, pup joints, unattached couplings, coupling stock, insulated tubing and vacuum insulated tubing, as well as stainless steel casing containing 10.5% or more chromium by weight.