The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced that the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) has issued its final conclusion in the anti-dumping investigation concerning cold-rolled stainless steel products originating from or imported from Vietnam.
Final Decision and Duty Rates
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According to KTC’s ruling, the dumping margins for Vietnam’s two mandatory respondent companies were determined at 18.81% (up 15.15% compared to the preliminary conclusion) and 11.37% (unchanged).
Other Vietnamese exporters will be subject to a general duty rate of 11.37%, an increase of 6.58% from the preliminary findings.
This final decision reflects a notable increase in anti-dumping duties compared to the earlier assessment. The rise resulted from KTC’s adjustments to its calculation method for one of the mandatory respondents, which led to a higher dumping margin.
Impact on Vietnamese Exporters
The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV) stated that the new duty rates would pose certain challenges for Vietnamese exporters of cold-rolled stainless steel to the Korean market.
TRAV recommends that Vietnamese companies:
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Prepare documentation and data to request a review of the duty rates through annual or interim reviews, and/or
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Apply for a new exporter review, in order to potentially achieve lower tariffs in the future.
Case Background
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Initiation date: May 30, 2024
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Product under investigation: Cold-rolled stainless steel from Vietnam
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Period of dumping investigation: January 1 – December 31, 2023
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Period of injury investigation: January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2023
The petitioner, POSCO, alleged that imports of cold-rolled stainless steel from Vietnam had increased significantly, causing injury to South Korea’s domestic industry.
Export Growth to South Korea
Data from the Vietnam Customs Information and Statistics Department shows a sharp rise in exports of the investigated product to South Korea between 2020 and 2023:
| Year | Export Value (USD) | Growth (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2.1 million | — |
| 2021 | 5.5 million | +161% |
| 2022 | 194.1 million | +3,000% |
| 2023 | 227.8 million | +14% |
This steep increase in trade volume was among the key factors leading to the investigation.
The case highlights the growing scrutiny of Vietnamese steel exports in major global markets, particularly as trade remedy measures become more frequent amid rising competition and industrial protection policies in key importing countries such as South Korea.