China’s Ministry of Commerce announced it will conduct a final review of anti-dumping measures on imports of stainless steel billets and hot-rolled stainless steel plates from the European Union (EU), Britain, South Korea, and Indonesia. This review will begin on Tuesday and aims to determine whether lifting these measures could harm the domestic steel industry.
As the world’s largest producer and consumer of stainless steel, China accounts for approximately 60% of global supply and demand. The review, expected to conclude after a year, follows a request from several Chinese stainless steel mills, including the state-owned Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel, which are advocating for the continuation of current measures for an additional five years.
Since July 23, 2019, China has imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from 18.1% to 103.1% on stainless steel products from the EU, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia for a five-year term. While the review is underway, the ministry will maintain existing anti-dumping measures for relevant products from the EU, the UK, South Korea, and Indonesia.
In contrast, anti-dumping duties on stainless steel imports from Japan, which range from 18.1% to 29%, will be lifted on Tuesday due to the absence of a review request.
Stainless steel billets and hot-rolled plates are primarily used in the production of cold-rolled stainless steel products and have applications in shipbuilding, containers, rail, and power industries. In 2023, China produced 36.68 million metric tons of stainless crude steel products, marking a 12.6% increase from the previous year, according to data from the Stainless Steel Council of the China Iron and Steel Association.