Japan is considering imposing anti-dumping duties on stainless steel imports from China and Taiwan after a preliminary government investigation found they were sold at unfairly low prices and caused harm to domestic producers.
Japan's Finance Ministry said Friday that a joint investigation with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry concluded that imports of nickel-added cold-rolled stainless steel coils, sheets and strips from China and Taiwan had caused "material injury" to Japan's steel industry.
The investigation was launched in July 2025 following complaints from major Japanese steelmakers, including Nippon Steel Corp., Nippon Yakin Kogyo, NAS Stainless Steel Strip MFG., and Nippon Kinzoku.
According to the preliminary findings, the products were sold in Japan at prices up to 45% lower than in China and 21% lower than in Taiwan, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said.
The Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said the low-priced imports forced domestic manufacturers to cut prices, damaging their businesses.
The development comes amid increased scrutiny of steel imports in Japan.
Earlier this month, Japanese authorities launched a separate investigation into hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel imports from China, South Korea and Taiwan to determine whether additional anti-dumping measures are necessary.
That investigation is expected to be completed within a year.
Anti-dumping duties are trade measures imposed on imports deemed to be sold below fair market value to protect domestic industries from unfair competition.
