UK Launches Anti-Dumping Investigation into South Korean Hot-Rolled Steel Plates

The UK's Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), under the Department for Business and Trade, has launched an anti-dumping investigation into certain steel products from South Korea.

Steel products are piled up at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi Province on the 1st. Photo by Yonhap News

The TRA announced on June 6 (local time) that it has begun investigating whether hot-rolled steel plates imported from South Korea between April last year and March this year were dumped, as well as whether the UK industry suffered injury between April 2021 and March this year.

The investigation targets hot-rolled flat products with a width of 600mm or more and a thickness of 4.75mm or more. These products are mainly used in bridge construction, machinery manufacturing, and shipbuilding. Imports of South Korean products into the UK surged from 14,000 tons in 2021 to 40,000 tons last year.

This investigation was initiated in response to a petition by the UK company Spartan UK, which claimed that dumped imports of South Korean products caused injury to the UK domestic industry, including price declines, reduced sales volumes, and decreases in profitability and productivity.

The TRA will collect opinions from the South Korean government and related industries in both South Korea and the UK until August. It will then conduct on-site verifications and data analysis until February next year. If the TRA determines that remedial measures are necessary, it will assess whether such measures are in the UK’s economic interest through an “economic interest test.” The final recommendation is expected in August next year.