Vietnam, South Korea Imposed Anti-dumping Tariffs on Chinese Steel Exports

Vietnam imposes up to 28% anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese steel

On February 21, 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam issued Decision No. 460/QD-BCT to impose temporary anti-dumping tariff on certain hot-rolled steel products originating in India and China. Accordingly, the temporary anti-dumping duty rates applicable to the investigated Chinese products are 19.38% to 27.83%. The validity period is 15 days after the date of publication (i.e. March 7, 2025, Beijing time).

In the past three years, Vietnam has become the largest market for China's hot-rolled exports and China's most important steel export market. Its total imports of hot-rolled coils in 2024 were 8.1414 million tons, an increase of 39.26% over 2023. China's exports are mainly divided into 2 meters and below 2 meters in terms of width, with a ratio of about 1:9 (there are few steel mills in China that can make hot-rolled coils with a width of more than 2 meters and export them, mainly Baowu +Angang+Bengang). Vietnam imports this part of the volume, and the main use is focused on its domestic industrial and manufacturing fields.

The main hot-rolled coil specifications for this anti-dumping are thicknesses ranging from 1.2 mm to 25.4 mm. From the perspective of trade behavior, it can be divided into two parts, material transshipment and material processing: Vietnam's material transshipment and material processing mainly refers to the original coil arriving at the port and then going from the bonded area to its neighboring countries (Cambodia, Laos and other regions without hot rolling capacity), so this part accounts for a very limited proportion.

The width does not exceed 1,880 mm, and wide coils above 1,880 mm can still be exported normally. This part of China's exportable volume is relatively small, so for this anti-dumping, the year-on-year impact can still reach 90%, with an annual total volume of about 7.32 million tons/year, equivalent to 600,000 tons/month.

South Korea will impose a 38% tariff on Chinese steel

On February 20, 2025, the Trade Commission of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea announced that it proposed to impose a temporary anti-dumping tariff on thick plates imported from China, with a tax rate ranging from 27.91% to 38.02%.

According to customs data, the total volume of China's medium and thick plate exports to South Korea in 2024 will be 1.47 million tons, with the main varieties being shipbuilding plates, plain carbon steel, tool steel, wear-resistant high-strength, nickel-based low-temperature steel plates, etc. 90% of which are used in South Korea's shipbuilding field. If the proposed tax is passed, there will be the following impacts:

China: In 2024, China's three major shipbuilding indicators ranked first in the world, and the number of orders on hand accounted for 63.1% of the global market. The number of new orders accounted for 74.1% of the global market. In 2025, China's demand for marine plates will continue to increase by more than 1 million tons. Therefore, even if South Korea's tax proposal is realized,China's incremental demand for ship plates can digest these exports.

South Korea: If the tax proposal is passed, it will lead to an increase in ship plate orders for South Korean medium and thick plate manufacturers, but it will undoubtedly increase the production costs of South Korean shipbuilding companies, thereby causing South Korean shipbuilding companies to lose their competitiveness when competing for orders with China, Japan and other countries.

Indonesian government cuts nickel ore quota

The Indonesian government, through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), has taken an important step by deciding to cut nickel ore quotas in the 2025 Work Plan and Budget (RKAB).

This decision is one of the efforts to organize and evaluate the Indonesian nickel industry to ensure that supply and demand are balanced, thus affecting the stability of nickel prices in the global market.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia explained that the reduction of nickel quotas is aimed at maintaining supply and demand, thereby supporting nickel price stability.

"The government has the responsibility to maintain this balance. If demand is high but supply is low, prices will rise. On the contrary, if demand is low and the commodity is abundant, prices will fall. "We are at this stage to ensure that prices remain good but still meet the needs of the industry," Bahlil told reporters at the ESDM Ministry Secretariat Office in Jakarta, Friday (21/2/2025). ”

He said the nickel quota arrangement is not only to maintain market stability, but also to ensure that domestic industrial demand can still be fully met while encouraging the growth of downstream industries. This is expected to bring long-term benefits to the domestic industry while maintaining the sustainability of existing natural resources.

He went on to say that the move has been responded to by all parties, and some circles believe that this is the right move to avoid price fluctuations that harm various industrial sectors.

However, he stressed that this decision is also part of a comprehensive assessment of mineral resource management to ensure that the interests of the national economy and industry players are maximized.

In the future, the government hopes that this policy will create a more stable and sustainable environment for Indonesia's nickel mining industry while maintaining Indonesia's competitiveness in the global nickel market.