South Korea slaps AD duties on hot-rolled steel from China, Japan; moots minimum price system

• Final acceptance of price commitments by 6 Chinese and 3 Japanese companies
  
  
• Quarterly MIP adjustments starting in July, duty will be imposed in case of violations
  
  

Steel Daily: The South Korean government has begun full-scale anti-dumping measures against hot-rolled steel sheets from China and Japan. These measures go beyond merely imposing anti-dumping duties and also introduce a Minimum Import Price (MIP) with major suppliers.

The government promulgated the 'Rules on the Imposition of Anti-Dumping Duties on Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel and Other Alloy Steel Products from Japan and China. In accordance with the supplementary provisions, the rules shall take effect immediately from the date of promulgation.

At the same time, the company finally accepted the promise to raise export prices from six Chinese steel companies and three Japanese steel companies. With this measure, companies participating in the price commitment are now allowed to sell hot-rolled steel in Korea only at the government-approved Minimum Import Price (MIP) or higher.

Minimum price commitment

On the other hand, companies that do not participate in the price commitment or violate it are subject to supplier-specific anti-dumping duties. A more significant change than tariffs is the MIP system, a price commitment in which exporters promise to export to Korea only at a price above a certain level, and the government accepts this.

In this announcement, member companies of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) and major Japanese hot-rolled steel manufacturers, including Nippon Steel, JFE Steel, and Tokyo Steel, have been included in the price commitment targets. The price commitment applies only to volumes exported to Korea through trading companies or exporters designated by each manufacturer, while anti-dumping duties are imposed on other volumes.

Six groups in China have entered the price commitment system: Angang (Bengang Steel PlatesAngang Steel), Baowu Group (Baoshan SteelWuhan SteelBaosteel ZhanjiangMaanshan Steel, etc.), Hebei Yanshan Iron & Steel, Shougang (Shougang JingtangShougang Qian'an), Jiangsu Shagang Steel, and Rizhao Steel Holding Group.

In Japan, three companies, Nippon Steel, JFE Steel, and Tokyo Steel Manufacturing, each signed price commitments. Designated exporters included Nippon Steel Trading, Sumitomo Corporation Global Metals, and Metal One for Nippon Steel; JFE Shoji, Metal One, and Toyota Tsusho for JFE Steel; and Nissei Trading, JFE Shoji, and POSCO International Japan for Tokyo Steel.

The first MIP is applied by 30 June. From July, the MIP-based on the price commitment reflecting market prices is not a fixed price. According to the notice, the initial minimum price will be applied from the effective date of the price commitment until 30 June. Thereafter, starting 1 July, a new minimum price will be calculated every quarter. Exporters must calculate a new minimum price by reflecting the market price and exchange rate of the previous quarter and submit it to the government and the Trade Commission.

Factoring in exchange rate volatility

A particularly notable aspect of this price commitment is that the exchange rate has been incorporated into the minimum price calculation formula. Given the recent increase in volatility between the Korean won and the US dollar, this is interpreted as a mechanism to minimise price distortions caused by exchange rate fluctuations and maintain the effectiveness of the minimum price.

For Chinese products, the minimum price is adjusted by reflecting both the price fluctuations of China's MySteel and the won-dollar exchange rate. For Japanese products, the quarterly minimum price is also calculated based on the Japan Metal Daily price and the won-dollar exchange rate. In particular, it is stipulated that 50% of the exchange rate fluctuation rate is reflected in the calculation of the minimum price.

Consequently, going forward, not only international steel prices but also exchange rate fluctuations will directly affect the minimum price of imported hot-rolled steel. As the extent of minimum price adjustments could widen if the Korean won weakens further, the import industry is also expected to monitor exchange rate trends alongside steel market conditions.

Meanwhile, the industry expects the MIP for the third quarter to be slightly higher than that of the second quarter, taking into account the recent rise in domestic hot-rolled steel prices in China and Japan and exchange rate fluctuations.

With this measure, the anti-dumping procedure for hot-rolled steel from China and Japan, which has proceeded through preliminary determinations, industrial damage investigations, public hearings, and final determinations since the start of the anti-dumping investigation last March, has now fully established its institutional framework as it moves from investigation to full-scale operation.

With this measure expected to bring significant changes to the pricing order of the domestic hot-rolled market, the market is expected to pay closer attention to the movements of the MIP based on price commitments rather than tariff rates going forward. Whether the MIP, which is adjusted quarterly to reflect international steel prices and exchange rates, can establish itself as a new standard for actual import prices and domestic market prices is expected to be the key point to watch that will determine the success or failure of this system.

Note: This article is published in accordance with a content sharing agreement between Steel Daily and BigMint