[TOKYO] Japan has launched an anti-dumping probe into imports of key steel products shipped from China, South Korea and Taiwan, adding to signs of trade stress in a sector suffering from global overcapacity.

The anti-dumping investigation will target imports of coil, strip and sheet in hot-rolled or cold-rolled form, Japan’s trade and finance ministries said in statements on Monday (Jun 1). The probe was requested by major Japanese producers including Nippon Steel and JFE Steel and comes as many countries resort to steel protectionism.

“In Japan as well, the need for appropriate trade remedy measures has become increasingly urgent,” Masayuki Hirose, chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, said in a website statement after the government announcements. Tokyo already launched probes last year into imports of some coated and stainless steels from some of the same countries.

China, by far the world’s biggest steel producer, has ramped up exports to offset falling domestic demand, triggering trade pushback from Asia to Europe and Latin America. The growth of new steel capacity in South-east Asia has also added to fierce regional competition that’s forced companies to seek new markets.

The targeted products were being sold into Japan up to 50 per cent below their “normal value”, the Japanese steelmakers alleged in their February application for a trade investigation. The so-called flat steels are widely used in sectors from automotive and consumer goods to machinery and packaging.

In February, China reached a pricing pact with South Korea to resolve an anti-dumping investigation launched by Seoul. Australia imposed tariffs of up to 82 per cent on hot rolled coil from China in early May, while Turkey decided in late December to levy a 3.95 per cent anti-dumping duty on certain Chinese steel products.

The latest investigation by Tokyo is expected to conclude in one year, the ministries said. BLOOMBERG