Trade Commission Sets Anti-Dumping Duties on Chinese Hot-Rolled Steel Plates at Up to 34.10%

Some Companies Commit to Price Increases
Anti-Dumping Duties to Be Imposed if Commitments Are Broken

On August 28, the Trade Commission of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held its 463rd meeting and issued a final anti-dumping ruling on hot-rolled steel plates imported from China. The commission determined that these products had caused substantial injury to the domestic industry and set the level of anti-dumping duties to be imposed over the next five years at 27.91% to 34.10%.

However, as nine Chinese exporters proposed to raise their export prices, the commission decided to recommend that the Minister of Economy and Finance accept these commitments. The price undertaking system sets an initial minimum export price and a method for quarterly price adjustments to prevent domestic injury. If the undertaking is violated, anti-dumping duties are imposed immediately.

For companies that did not participate in the undertaking, the commission decided to recommend an anti-dumping duty of 34.10%. Currently, provisional anti-dumping duties of 27.91% to 38.02% are being imposed on hot-rolled steel plates.

At the same meeting, the commission also reviewed and resolved four cases of intellectual property rights infringement related to imports and exports. It determined that all cases constituted unfair trade practices: the “patent infringement of interlayers for head-up displays” initiated in September last year, the “patent infringement of uninterruptible power supply” initiated in October, and the “design infringement of fishing pliers” initiated in January this year.

Accordingly, the commission decided to issue corrective orders such as suspension of export and manufacturing activities and exclusion from importation for goods that infringed on these rights, as well as to impose fines. In particular, the head-up display interlayer case and the uninterruptible power supply case were cited as examples of patent disputes between foreign companies, highlighting the commission’s potential to emerge as a global institution for investigating and adjudicating intellectual property disputes. The commission itself conducted tests on heat shrinkage and glossiness-key points of contention in these cases-and used the results as grounds for its patent infringement rulings.

Additionally, the investigation into “connected car standard patent infringement” initiated in December last year was concluded after the parties rapidly reached a licensing agreement and requested withdrawal of the investigation. The commission also received a report on the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation into European (Germany, France, Norway, Sweden) polyvinyl chloride (PVC) paste resin.

A representative of the Trade Commission stated, “We will continue to systematically respond to unfair trade practices such as dumping and intellectual property infringement in response to changes in the global trade environment.”