Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has announced that, together with the Ministry of Finance, they have initiated antidumping duty (AD) investigations on CRC and HRC from South Korea, China and Taiwan.
The investigation was initiated following the petition filed by local producers Nippon Steel Corporation, JFE Steel Corporation, Kobe Steel, Ltd. and Nakayama Steel Works, Ltd., alleging that the given products from South Korea, China and Taiwan were sold at dumped prices, thereby causing material injury to the domestic industry.
Based on the results of the investigation, Japan will determine whether or not products have been imported into the country at dumped prices and if such dumped imports have caused material injury to the domestic industry, and make a decision on whether or not to impose antidumping duties on products subject to the investigation.
According to the data released by METI, the import volume of CRC increased from 830,818 mt in fiscal year 2021 to 874,353 mt in fiscal year 2023. Although it reduced to 804,355 mt during the period from October 2024 to September 2025, the market share of imports in aggregate domestic demand has increased over the period. In addition, the imports of HRC increased from 1,225,949 mt in fiscal year 2021 to 1,430,415 mt during the period from October 2024 to September 2025. In these periods, the market share of HRC imports in aggregate domestic demand has increased.
The investigations are scheduled to be completed within one year.
