On Products from Japan, China, Finland
The Ministry of Strategy & Finance announced on January 22 that it imposed provisional anti-dumping tariffs of up to 56.3% on coated printing paper imported from Japan, China and Finland. Specifically, the products with a weight per square meter of 55 grams to 110 grams are subject to provisional anti-dumping tariffs ranging from 4.64% to 56.3% from January 22 to May 21.
The Korea Trade Commission submitted a preliminary investigation result regarding this issue in December last year. The ministry explained that the tariffs are to prevent damage to the local industry that can be done during the period of the commission’s follow-up investigation, which is scheduled to be completed within four months before the imposition of final tariffs.
The provisional anti-dumping tariffs on the products imported from China range from 8.98% to 12.12%. The rates are 56.3% for those imported from Japan and 4.64% to 10.51% for those from Finland. The size of the South Korean coated printing paper market was approximately 500 billion won and 500,000 tons as of 2016. Finnish, Chinese and Japanese suppliers accounted for about 25% of the market that year. Coated printing paper is used in textbooks, magazines, shopping catalogues, leaflets, and so on.
Earlier, on June 8 last year, three South Korean companies, including Hansol Paper, requested the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation, claiming that the suppliers’ dumping prices caused business difficulties and a decline in their local sales. The investigation was initiated in the following month.