Japan Preliminarily Finds Dumping of Chinese and Taiwanese Steel, Plans Provisional Tariffs as Early as Next Month

Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ryosei Akazawa, announced today that the government has made a preliminary finding that certain stainless steel products imported from China and Taiwan are being sold at unfairly low prices, causing material injury to domestic producers. The government intends to impose provisional anti-dumping duties starting as early as next month.

According to reports from NHK, Kyodo News, and Jiji Press, a consortium of four Japanese firms, including Nippon Steel, filed a petition in 2025 alleging that "nickel-based alloy cold-rolled stainless steel sheets" were being dumped, requesting protective tariffs.

Minister Akazawa stated that the investigation confirmed the goods were being exported at unfair prices and damaging domestic industry. Japan plans to impose provisional tariffs of up to approximately 45% on Chinese products and up to 21% on Taiwanese products. The government will proceed in accordance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

Following approval by the Customs and Foreign Exchange Council, an advisory body to the Finance Minister, the tariffs are expected to take effect as early as July for a maximum duration of four months.

Data from the Ministry of Finance indicates that these steel sheets are used in products ranging from cutlery to train carriages. Investigations reveal that these imports are priced 20% to 40% lower than their domestic prices in the markets of origin. According to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, China and Taiwan account for 20% and 17% of Japan’s steel imports, respectively, while South Korea remains the largest source at 62%.