South Korea launches AD probe into Chinese steel plates

Mysteel Global: The Korea Trade Commission (KTC), under South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, has launched an anti-dumping (AD) investigation into imports of hot-rolled carbon or other alloy steel plates originating from China, Mysteel Global has learnt.

The investigation, announced through the ministry's official gazette on 4 October, aims to determine whether the domestic industry has been harmed by low-cost exports of steel plates by Chinese companies, including the Shagang Group, according to Korean sources. The preliminary investigation will last three months before the main investigation and determination process are initiated.

The Commission is acting on a petition filed by South Korea's second-largest steel company, Hyundai Steel, in late July, which claimed that an influx of Chinese steel plates, "caused by China's delayed economic recovery and overproduction", had resulted in financial harm to the country's heavy plate producers.

The period of investigation for the dumping assessment is 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, and that for injury assessment is 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2024, Mysteel Global understands. The KTC is expected to announce its preliminary findings by the end of December.

The targeted products come under the Harmonised Tariff Schedule of Korea (HSK) codes: 7208.51.1000, 7208.51.9000, 7208.52.1000, 7208.52.9000, 7225.40.9010, 7225.40.9091, and 7225.40.9099.

The volume of the targeted China-origin plates in this case is relatively small, indicating limited impact in the short term, a Shanghai-based market analyst noted.

However, South Korea's AD probe has undoubtedly placed more pressure on Chinese steel exports in the long run, she warned, as South Korea is a major consumer of Chinese steel products.

Korean business daily, the Maeil Pulse, noted that as this is Korea's first AD case in the heavy plate sector, both the steel and shipbuilding industries are paying close attention to the decision. The publication quotes Korean shipbuilding industry sources as saying that the Korea Offshore and Shipbuilding Association (KOSHIPA) recently contacted major domestic shipbuilders individually to assess their reliance on Chinese steel plates and their future import plans. "(KOSHIPA) also closely examined the potential impact if anti-dumping tariffs were imposed," it said.

In 2023, China's steel exports to South Korea jumped by 30.6% y-o-y to 8.35 million tonnes (mnt), accounting for around 9.3% of China's total steel exports, data from China's General Administration of Customs showed. South Korea also emerged as the second-largest importer after Vietnam.

In fact, as the largest consumer of Chinese steel products, Vietnam, in late July, also launched an AD probe against certain Chinese hot-rolled coils, including the products under custom code 7208.

In January-August 2024, a total of 23 trade investigations were initially launched against China-origin steel products, exceeding the total of 15 cases from 2021-2023, according to the China Iron and Steel Association.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.