Leading to Another Trade Retaliation?
It has been found that the Ministry of Strategy and Finance of South Korea decided, on February 13, to impose preliminary anti-dumping tariffs of 4.43% to 15.71% on zinc-coated steel wires imported from China.
The dumping prices of Chinese steel products have been a problem for a while. At present, the size of the South Korean zinc-coated steel wire market is as small as 100 billion won (US$90 million), but Chinese products account for 70% of it. The ministry’s determination can lead to China’s trade retaliation with trade pressure from the United States spreading to China, South Korea, etc.
Earlier, on December 21 last year, the Korea Trade Commission held a meeting and recommended the preliminary anti-dumping tariffs to the ministry. The purpose of a preliminary anti-dumping tariff is to prevent damage that occurs during an investigation period preceding the imposition of a final tariff.
Four South Korean companies, including Hankuk Steel Wire, applied for an anti-dumping investigation before the ministry made the decision. The preliminary tariffs are valid until June 13 this year. Whether to impose a final tariff is scheduled to be determined in the first half of this year.