Japan to Launch Antidumping Probe into Steel Products from China, Others

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)--Japan will launch an investigation to judge whether antidumping duties need to be imposed on steel products from China, South Korea and Taiwan, the finance and industry ministries said Monday.

The probe into hot-rolled steel strips and sheets as well as cold-rolled steel strips and sheets will be completed within one year, in principle.

Hot-rolled steel strips and sheets are used in a wide range of products including automobiles and building materials, while cold-rolled steel strips and sheets are used in such products as auto parts and home electronics.

In February this year, Japanese companies including Nippon Steel Corp. and JFE Steel Corp. asked the government to impose antidumping duties on those steel products, arguing they were exported below fair value.

"Steel exports are increasing against the backdrop of China's overcapacity problem," Takanari Yamashita, a senior official of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, told a press conference Monday. "Pressure on Japan-bound exports is also increasing, and the need for countermeasures is growing."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]