Dongkuk CM announced on the 27th that it has decided to file an anti-dumping complaint against construction-use color-coated steel plates and galvanized steel plates imported from China.
Dongkuk CM determined that the indiscriminate influx of low-priced Chinese galvanized and color-coated steel plates hinders the development of domestic companies, distorts market prices, and threatens safety with substandard products, prompting the filing of the complaint.
The items subject to the complaint, construction-use galvanized and color-coated steel plates, are used in factories and warehouses as single-color sandwich panels for low-priced materials, while high-priced products are used as building exterior materials such as roofs, interior walls, exterior walls, and signboards.
The size of the domestic market was approximately 2.8 million tons (t) last year, amounting to 3 trillion won. Among this, the scale of imported products exceeds 1 million tons, with over 90% being from China.
The import volume of Chinese construction-use galvanized and color-coated steel plates has increased by 34.2% over the past three years, from 760,000 tons to 1.02 million tons annually, with the price per ton falling from $952 to $730, a decrease of 23.3%.
Dongkuk CM is concerned that the domestic market, which is the foundation for manufacturers of galvanized and color-coated steel plates, may regress to a low-cost material level due to the influx of imported Chinese galvanized and color-coated steel plates, gradually losing its growth momentum, and emphasizes the urgent need for market protection through trade regulations.
Dongkuk CM plans to quickly proceed with the complaint by coordinating with domestic peers, including SeAH CM, to ensure that effective regulatory effects from the anti-dumping complaints can occur at least by the first half of the year.
It also stated that most of the circulating Chinese color-coated steel plates fall significantly below the legal requirement of 90g/㎡ for coating specified in construction law, being at 60g/㎡, and indicated that it would take legal action.
A Dongkuk CM official noted, "There is a need for strategic trade responses through macro analysis of the steel production structure," adding, "It is essential to apply phased trade regulations starting from final steel products to minimize friction with neighboring countries while promoting coexistence within the steel industry."