China extends anti-dumping duties on certain stainless-steel imports

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced on Monday that it will continue imposing anti-dumping duties on stainless steel billet and hot-rolled stainless-steel plate (coil) imports from the EU, the UK, South Korea, and Indonesia for another five years starting July 1, 2025.

The decision follows the conclusion of a sunset review investigation initiated in July 2024, at the request of domestic stainless steel producers, according to a statement on the ministry's official website. The review determined that dumping from these countries and material injury to the domestic industry would likely continue or reoccur if the existing measures were lifted.

The statement stressed that while the domestic industry has achieved a certain degree of recovery during the investigation period under existing measures, it remains in a state of operational instability with limited resilience, and the industry is still vulnerable to the impact and disruption caused by the subject imports. This conclusion is based on an extensive analysis of various economic indicators by the investigating authority, such as production capacity, output, and domestic sales volume of like products, per the ministry. 

According to Monday's announcement, the extended duties maintain the original rates introduced in the ministry's Announcement No.31 in 2019. Companies from the EU and the UK will continue to face a 43.0 percent duty. South Korean producers face rates of 23.1 percent for POSCO and 103.1 percent for all others. Indonesian exporters are subject to a 20.2 percent duty.

Huo Jianguo, a vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, noted that the decision is based on the existing ruling and follows a review that confirmed the continued risk of dumping and injury to China's domestic industry. "So, it is both lawful and justified, reflecting China's commitment to defending its industrial security and safeguarding its rights and interests in accordance with the law," Huo noted.

China's practice is not only in compliance with Chinese anti-dumping regulations, but also substantially aligns with the relevant mechanisms permitted under WTO rules, Huo told the Global Times on Monday.

China initially imposed the duties in July 2019 after concluding that exporters from the EU, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia were engaging in dumping practices, which caused material injury to the domestic industry. The measures underwent multiple reviews, including a WTO compliance reassessment in 2023 regarding Japanese products and a 2020-2021 interim review for Indonesia's Guangqing Nickel Industry, which was later terminated.

After the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31, 2020, the existing anti-dumping measures previously applied to the EU would continue to apply to both the EU and the UK, with their implementation periods remaining unchanged, per a MOFCOM announcement in 2021.

The latest extension of the duties covers targeted stainless-steel products with a carbon content of 1.2 percent or less and a chromium content of 10.5 percent or more by weight, excluding cold-rolled products. These materials are typically used either as feedstock for cold-rolled stainless steel or directly in industries such as shipbuilding, containers, railways, power, and petrochemicals, according to the latest statement.

In line with the 2019 arrangement, the MOFCOM also decided to continue accepting the price undertaking proposed by South Korea's POSCO. Under the undertaking, POSCO's shipments to China will not be subject to anti-dumping duties as long as the export prices remain above the committed threshold. 

Starting July 1, 2025, importers of the affected products from the EU, UK, non-price-undertaking South Korean companies, and Indonesia must pay anti-dumping duties to Chinese customs authorities, per Monday's statement.

As global steel markets grow increasingly competitive, particularly amid US tariff escalations, China's justified use of anti-dumping measures becomes imperative to safeguard domestic producers against potential market flooding, while strengthening homegrown manufacturers' competitiveness and market positioning, Huo noted.

(Global Times)