S. Korea recommends accepting Chinese steel firms’ price hike as anti-dumping measure

Seoul, Aug 28 South Korea's trade watchdog on Thursday recommended the government accept a proposal from Chinese steel companies to raise export prices of their hot-rolled carbon and alloy steel plates over the next five years as part of anti-dumping remedies.

The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) said it has decided to make such a recommendation to the Ministry of Economy and Finance for nine Chinese steel exporters, including Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. and Jiangsu Shagang Steel Co, reports Yonhap news agency.

The companies have proposed a price undertaking after the KTC reached a preliminary decision in February to impose anti-dumping duties, having determined that the exporters inflicted damage on the Korean steel industry by selling their products here at excessively low prices.

The KTC said it will recommend the ministry levy anti-dumping tariffs of up to 34.1 percent for the next five years on other Chinese companies that did not make such proposals.

Trade authorities launched an investigation into the case in October, three months after Hyundai Steel Co. filed a complaint with the government against competing low-priced thick steel plate imports from China.

Thursday's decision comes amid mounting concerns in the Korean steel industry, faced with 50 percent tariffs on all steel imports imposed by the U.S. government and an oversupply of cheap products from China.

In July, the trade watchdog made a preliminary decision to impose anti-dumping tariffs on hot-rolled steel plates from Japan and China after its initial investigation identified potential damage to the domestic industry.

To prevent further damage during the upcoming formal investigation period, the KTC also recommended imposing anti-dumping tariffs of 43.35 percent on optical fibre products from the two countries.

The KTC launched its investigation into alleged dumping by six Japanese firms, including JFE Shoji Corp., and five Chinese producers, such as Benxi Iron and Steel Group, following a complaint filed by Hyundai Steel Co., a leading South Korean steelmaker.

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