Sep 04, 2019
Taiwan Extends Tariffs on Steel

Taipei Times reported that Taiwan has extended anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese and South Korean steelmakers for another five years after an investigation found that firms in those countries have sold their products at unfairly low prices in the Taiwanese market, causing material damage to their peers here. In an announcement posted by the Ministry of Finance’s Customs Administration on Thursday last week, the punitive levy has been extended from Thursday to August 28th 2024, against Chinese and South Korean exporters of some steel products, including stainless steel and cold-rolled coils and sheets. The steel items are used in a wide range of products, including auto parts, kitchen equipment, computer components, electrical motors, cable cars, shipping containers and building materials. The tariffs stand at 38.11% for China and 37.65% for South Korea, the Customs Administration said.

During the previous round of punitive tariffs from August 15, 2013, to August 14 last year, Chinese steelmakers had tariffs of 20.18% to 38.11% on their products, while South Korean firms faced tariffs of 26.53% to 37.65%.

The Customs Administration launched a probe into some steel products imported by Chinese and South Korean firms after Yieh United Steel Corp and Tang Eng Iron Works Co filed a petition on August 8, arguing that the termination of the tariffs could harm Taiwan’s steel market if they continued to dump their products here.