A Breathing Space for Korean Steelmakers
The U.S. government’s preliminary decision to exempt Korean cold-rolled steels from anti-dumping duties has given a breathing space to Korean steel manufacturers including Hyundai Steel.
The U.S. Department of Commerce released the results of the second preliminary judgment on cold-rolled steel products from Korean steelmakers. It imposed zero percent tariff on products from Hyundai Steel, POSCO, Dongbu Steel, and Dongkuk Steel, which received an anti-dumping tariff of 36.59 percent, 2.68 percent, 0.57 percent and 0.57 percent, respectively, in the final judgment of the first review in May.
A countervailing duty (CVD) on products from Hyundai Steel virtually became 0 percent as it dropped to 0.54 percent, a de minimis dumping margin from 0.58 percent. CVDs on POSCO, Dongbu Steel, and Dongkuk Steel Mill were set at 0.59 percent, similar to the previous level.
A cold-rolled steel sheet is made thinner and carefully processed by pressing a hot rolled steel sheet with a precision machine at room temperature again. The product is mainly used to make automobiles, home appliances, and steel pipes.
Industry insiders say that once a preliminary ruling of the U.S. Department of Commerce is will not be changed in the main judgment unless there is a special issue. The main ruling is slated to come out in May 2020. The current tariffs will be maintained until May but after the main ruling, the results that came out this time will apply.
In the fourth preliminary decision on Korean oil country tubular goods (OCTG) announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the same time, the tariff rates were lowered except for SeAH Steel products.
U.S. steel company US Steel may request a review of the results of the preliminary judgment. "If Korean steelmakers’ price competitiveness increases in the United States thanks to the lowered anti-dumping tariff rates, US steelmakers will not wait and see it," said an official of the Korean steel industry. "Korean steelmakers need to monitor situations as there are still many variables."