South Korea will soon open a formal anti-dumping investigation into stainless steel plates imported from Japan as a preliminary probe suggested the prices of the Japanese products have been unfairly cut, the Korea Trade Commission said Thursday.
The commission said it has made an "affirmative determination" of injuries to the local market and manufacturers due to the suspected dumping of Japanese products.
"The Trade Commission will conduct a formal investigation for the next three months and deliver its definitive ruling to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance after deciding whether to impose anti-dumping duties," it said in a press release, adding the probe can be extended by an additional two months if necessary.
The preliminary investigation began in March following a complaint from South Korea's sole stainless steel plate producer DK Corp. against Japan's three stainless steel plate producers -- Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel Corporation, Nippon Yakin Kogyo Co., Ltd. and JFE Steel Corporation.
The commission earlier said the South Korean company was calling for anti-dumping duties of 33.6 percent for products made by the three Japanese companies.
Stainless steel plates are mostly used in petrochemical plants, liquefied natural gas tanker ships and desalination facilities, with local production accounting for about 40 percent of the South Korean market that averaged about 400 billion won (US$344 million) a year from 2007-2009.
Japanese products take up about 20 percent of the local market, according to the trade commission.