Steel imports, especially from China, alarm Japanese mills

The steady climb in the volumes of foreign steel entering Japan is causing concern among Japanese steelmakers, particularly from China, with the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) warning darkly that it intends to move forward with discussions on trade measures with the national government as soon as possible.

Preliminary JISF data released on October 31 show that during January-September this year, ordinary steel imports from all sources had risen by 8.7% on year to reach 3,745,855 tonnes, while those in September alone jumped 9.4% from September last year to reach 433,973 tonnes. Industry watchers note that if the