Japan, South Korea now tit-for-tat with HRC dumping suits

The June 1 announcement from the ministries was in response to a petition filed by integrated mills Nippon Steel, JFE Steel and Kobe Steel and Osaka-based re-roller Nakayama Steel on February 27 that alleged low-priced imports of HR items from the three countries and regions were damaging their business. In a separate petition Nippon Steel, JFE Steel and Kobe Steel had claimed that CR product imports from the three countries and regions were also being unfairly exported.

The products subject to investigation are classified under HS codes 7208.10, 7208.25-7208.40, 7208.52-7208.90, 7211.13-7211.19, 7225.30, 7225.40, 7225.99, 7226.91 and 7226.99 for hot-rolled products, and 7209.15-7209.28, 7209.90, 7225.50 and 7225.99 for cold-rolled products. The investigation period for pricing is April 2025-March 2026, while the injury investigation period covers April 2021-March 2026.

The petitioners had argued that imports of HR sheets and coils from the three countries and regions had surged by 17% since 2021 to reach 1,430,415 tonnes during the period October 2024-September 2025. According to Nippon Steel, HR goods from the target countries and regions now command a 20% share of the domestic market.

Similarly, imports of CR sheets and coils from the three had increased from 830,818 tonnes in 2021 to 874,353 tonnes in 2023. Although the CR tonnage has declined since, Nippon Steel still claims that their CR products now account for 25% of domestic demand.

In a statement issued the same day, Japan Iron and Steel Federation chairman, Masayuki Hirose, pointed out that the Japanese steel industry has been strengthening its monitoring of unfair import practices.

"In response to the sharp increase in steel exports from China driven by excess capacity, a growing number of countries and regions have implemented trade remedy measures," he noted. "In Japan as well, the need for appropriate trade remedy measures has become increasingly urgent."

In their February petitions, the Japanese mills had argued that the HR dumping margin for the Korean and Chinese mills was 20-40%, and 3-20% for Taiwanese HR imports. For CR imports, they cited a margin of 10-30% on Korean CR imports, a huge 30-50% on those from the Chinese mainland, and 2-15% on Taiwanese CRC and sheets.

The application listed South Korean steel giants POSCO and Hyundai Steel, Baowu Steel in the Chinese mainland, and China Steel Corp in Taiwan among the firms the mills wanted the Japanese government to investigate.

That Japan should launch AD probes into imports of HRC and CRC at the same time and from the same countries and regions is regarded as highly unusual. But more than that, in Korea the timing of Monday's announcement has caused some surprise and consternation.

A week earlier on May 26, Korea's Ministry of Finance and Economy had officially announced rules regarding its imposition of AD penalties on imports of Chinese and Japanese HR products, as Mysteel Global reported.

In February, the Korean government had decided to impose final duties of 31.58-33.43% on Japanese HR sheets and coils and duties of 28.16-33.10% on Chinese imports. However, Japanese companies including Nippon Steel and JFE Steel have agreed to export at a price determined by the Korean government in exchange for an export quota free of AD penalties, also as reported.

"Some in the market predict that if Japan's anti-dumping investigation leads to preliminary and final rulings leading to tariff impositions, domestic discussions may arise about whether to maintain price commitments to Japanese companies," Korean industry daily Steel & Metal News observed ruefully.

"Within the industry, various opinions may arise regarding mutual interest or fairness, (given that) with Japanese companies accepting price promises, Japan has launched an anti-dumping investigation into Korean hot-rolled sheets and coils," it quotes an industry source as saying.

South Korea's trade adjudicator, the Korea Trade Commission, had originally floated the compromise proposal of a minimum export price arrangement for HR to the targeted exporters, out of concern for Korean users of the imported HR coils and sheets whom it feared would suffer if large dumping duties were applied. (During January-April this year alone, Japan exported 409,000 tonnes of hot coils to Korea, Japanese Customs data show.)

Korea's finance ministry had accepted the deal but, depending on how Japan's finance ministry proceeds with its AD probe, the pricing agreement might be revisited, perhaps with the AD-free quota substantially reduced.

Written by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com