Japan opens anti-dumping inquiry into Chinese and Taiwanese stainless steel sheets

Japan has begun investigating whether nickel-based stainless steel sheets shipped from China and Taiwan are being dumped on its market at up to 50 % below home-market prices, the trade and finance ministries said on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Finance said the probe—requested by Nippon Steel and other domestic makers on 12 May—will run for up to a year before officials decide whether to impose punitive duties.

The petitioners allege the imports are sold in Japan at 20% - 50% less than comparable products in China and 3%- 20% less than those in Taiwan, forcing Japanese producers to discount their own prices and eroding operating profit.

Nippon Steel and its peers say they have struggled to pass on higher input costs, notably for nickel, since buyers switched to cheaper foreign supplies as domestic demand cooled.

Excess output from China—responsible for more than half of the world’s crude steel production, according to industry group worldsteel has become a global flashpoint, with the European Union, India and the United States already applying anti-dumping or safeguard measures. Japan has so far held back.

Tadashi Imai, chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation and president of Nippon Steel, has warned that a rise in protectionism elsewhere could leave Japan exposed to a surge of low-priced imports, undermining domestic capacity.

China’s commerce ministry did not immediately comment on the Japanese action, while Taiwan’s economy ministry said it was still examining the notice.

If Tokyo decides to levy duties, it would mark the first time Japan has targeted Chinese steel with anti-dumping tariffs, potentially inflaming trade tensions with its largest trading partner.

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