Japan has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization regarding China’s tariffs on stainless steel products. The latter has levied tariffs at 29pc, which Japan claims is against international trade rules.
On Friday, Japan requested consultations with China over anti-dumping duties on stainless steel products, placed in July 2019. The SS products involved are stainless steel slabs, hot-rolled SS sheets, and hot-rolled SS coils.
China started imposing Anti-dumping (AD) duties on SS products in 2019 from exporting countries, including Japan, Indonesia, the EU, and South Korea, claiming that it was hurting its domestic markets.
Japan considers the AD to be inconsistent with General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) due to flaws in the Chinese investigation procedures. Japan, in bilateral meetings, has repeatedly asked China to eliminate the AD measures but in vain.
The total value of exports of SS from Japan to China is approximately JPY70bn ($638mn) per year. Around JPY9.2bn of the total value accounts for AD measures.
($1=JPY109.68)