Dumping of electromagnetic steel products from China and South Korea, Ministry of Economic Affairs determines that domestic industry has been substantially damaged

The Ministry of Economic Affairs held a trade remedy review meeting today (9th).

[Reporter Liao Jianing/Taipei Report] The Ministry of Economic Affairs held a trade remedy review meeting today (9th). During the meeting, my country's anti-dumping case against South Korea and China's cold-rolled, flat-rolled, non-directional electromagnetic steel products was finally determined to have caused substantial damage to the domestic industry. The review meeting also reviewed the industrial damage investigation results of the sunset investigation case of China's specific aluminum foil anti-dumping duties after the expiration of five years, and determined that the domestic industry damage may continue or reoccur due to the suspension of anti-dumping duties.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that its investigation into the case of electromagnetic steel products found that the import volume of the goods involved in the case from South Korea and China has increased significantly and prices have continued to drop. Since 2012, they have been sold at prices lower than domestic products. Domestic industries have been forced to follow up with price reductions to maintain competitiveness. However, because the price reduction is not as large as the dumped goods involved, customers have been lost, resulting in an overall decline in production volume, capacity utilization, domestic sales, market share and other economic indicators. Domestic sales have suffered losses since 2013 and have gradually expanded. Although the relevant economic indicators of the domestic industry improved for a time in 2014, they weakened again in the first half of 2015, indicating that the import of goods involved in the dumping case has had a significant adverse impact on the domestic industry.

Regarding the China-specific aluminum foil sunset investigation case, the Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that the investigation found that although the import volume of the goods involved decreased during the imposition of anti-dumping duties, they still competed with domestic products at low prices, causing the domestic industry operating conditions to deteriorate again after a slight improvement. Furthermore, considering China’s aluminum foil overcapacity and strong export capacity, coupled with the fact that more and more countries have adopted trade remedy measures or increased tariffs on its aluminum foil, its export market has been severely restricted. If my country stops imposing anti-dumping duties, the goods involved may once again be exported in large quantities at low prices to nearby Chinese markets that have established marketing channels. As domestic demand has not yet improved and the industry's health remains fragile, the damage to my country's specific aluminum foil industry may continue or reoccur.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that the results of the determination of industrial damage in the above two cases will be notified to the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry will submit it to the Tariff Rate Review Group to consider whether to impose and continue to impose anti-dumping duties.