Japanese firms demand reduction in AD duties on steel
Still suffering from rising raw material costs, Japanese steel firms in Thailand demand that the new government reduce or terminate antidumping duties on certain imported steel products. Members of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce (JCC) in Thailand expressed that rising raw material costs pose a problem for Japanese firms in Thailand. Many of the affected firms operate in the automotive, steel, electrical and electronics sectors. Japanese firms in Thailand claim that the higher antidumping duties increase raw material prices. In order to save costs, Japanese firms try to meet their raw material requirements by utilizing domestic sources; however, since the availability of certain high quality products remains tight in Thai market, the Japanese companies have to import their requirements from Japan. Japanese firms claim that Thailand has to import raw materials to use in domestic industry and, therefore, the antidumping duties are unnecessarily high.