Case Details September 18, 2025 Vietnam’s Trade Remedies Authority issued an announcement stating that, on September 10, 2025, a Vietnamese producer filed an application for an anti-circumvention investigation into HRC (Vietnamese: phẩm thép cán nóng) originating in China with a width greater than 1,880 mm and less than 2,300 mm. October 27, 2025 Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Announcement No. 3176/QD-BCT, stating that, upon application by a Vietnamese producer, it had initiated an anti-circumvention investigation in the anti-dumping case concerning HRC (Vietnamese: phẩm thép cán nóng) originating in China, to examine whether the products under investigation had been slightly modified into HRC with a width exceeding 1,880 mm and less than or equal to 2,300 mm for export to Vietnam in order to evade anti-dumping duties. The announcement took effect on the date of issuance. April 2, 2026 Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade temporarily applied anti-circumvention trade remedy measures to certain hot-rolled steel plate products originating in the People’s Republic of China. The Vietnamese tariff codes of the products under investigation are 7208.25.00, 7208.26.00, 7208.27.19, 7208.27.99, 7208.36.00, 7208.37.00, 7208.38.00, 7208.39.20, 7208.39.40, 7208.39.90, 7208.52.00, 7208.53.00, 7208.54.90, 7208.90.90, 7211.14.15, 7211.14.16, 7211.14.19, 7211.19.13, 7211.19.19, 7211.90.12, 7211.90.19, 7225.30.90, 7225.40.90, 7225.99.90, 7226.91.10, and 7226.91.90. All producers and export enterprises of the People’s Republic of China are subject to an anti-dumping duty rate of 27.83 Products not subject to the temporary anti-circumvention trade remedy measures include: hot-rolled steel plate products with carbon content (by weight) > 0.30%; hot-rolled steel plate products in coil form with thickness ≥10 mm; hot-rolled steel plate products formally excluded from the scope of anti-dumping duties pursuant to Decision No. 1959/QĐ-BCT dated July 4, 2025; and steel plate products of grades BW450, BS700MCK2, AG700, and LG700T. This decision will take effect 15 days after the date of issuance. From Anti-Dumping to Anti-Circumvention: What Changed in the Export Data? Previously, Vietnam’s anti-dumping duties on China’s hot-rolled coil products applied only to products with a width not exceeding 1,880 mm, leading many Chinese exporters to evade tariffs by “slightly adjusting” product specifications into the wider 1,880-2,300 mm range. This anti-circumvention investigation and the subsequent duty decision were intended to completely close this loophole. Under the new rules, hot-rolled steel coils with widths between 1,880 mm and 2,300 mm will also be included in the taxable scope and be subject to the same anti-dumping duty rate of 27.83 as the original products. Figure 1 Relationship Between Total HRC Exports to Vietnam and Exports of Products Involved in the Anti-Circumvention Case It can be seen that before the anti-dumping case was filed, China’s HRC exports to Vietnam mainly consisted of conventional-width coils below 1,880-2,300 mm. This was mainly because producing wide hot-rolled products above 2 meters requires special production lines, and the China steel mills capable of exporting such products were highly concentrated, mainly large steel enterprises such as Baowu, Angang, Bensteel Group, and WISCO, making them non-mainstream export products. After the preliminary anti-dumping ruling, the proportion of wide coils gradually increased. Another set of data shows the following . First, if the preliminary anti-dumping ruling is taken as the time period, China’s HRC exports to Vietnam from January to June of that year had already plunged 46 YoY to 2.3165 million mt, while exports of wide coils surged 815 YoY to 1.2964 million mt. This was also the main support for why the decline in the average exports of China’s HRC to Vietnam was not obvious during the period from the preliminary anti-dumping ruling to the filing of the anti-circumvention case. Second, if the filing of the anti-circumvention case is taken as the time period, as of December 2025 , China’s total HRC exports to Vietnam were 1.0797 million mt, with a monthly average of 529,900 mt; exports of products involved in the anti-circumvention case totaled 627,000 mt, accounting for 58.08. In other words, in an extreme scenario, the establishment of anti-circumvention measures would reduce the monthly average of China’s HRC exports to Vietnam to 226,300 mt. Furthermore, if 2026 is taken as the time period, because the market had previously expected anti-circumvention measures to be implemented in December, some export traders still conducted transactions before then, so the data for November-December 2025 cannot fully reflect the actual reduction in export volumes caused by concerns over the confirmation of anti-circumvention measures. Since the beginning of 2026, China’s total HRC exports to Vietnam were 229,700 mt, with a monthly average of 114,800 mt; exports of products involved in the anti-circumvention case totaled 131,300 mt, accounting for 57.17. In other words, in an extreme scenario, the establishment of anti-circumvention measures would reduce the monthly average of China’s HRC exports to Vietnam to 49,200 mt, representing a decline of 3,789 YoY compared with the 2025 monthly average export volume. Impact of Anti-Circumvention Measures It is thus evident that the further implementation of anti-circumvention measures will further narrow the channel for China’s hot-rolled products to be exported to Vietnam. Last year, Vietnam was still the largest market for China’s hot-rolled exports, but the export landscape may change significantly in the future as a result of this incident. For China’s export enterprises, they should seize the remaining 15-day “breathing space” and accelerate shipments of orders on hand. In the long run, they need to proactively adjust their product mix and pay more attention to export opportunities for high-end products.

According to a report on Feb 12, Thailand has initiated a sunset review of anti-dumping (AD) duties on cold-rolled stainless steel coils, sheets, and strips originating from Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. The existing duties were set to expire on February 17, 2026. However, authorities determined that expiration would likely lead to a recurrence of dumping. Consequently, importers are required to pay security deposits equivalent to the AD duty rates (Japan: 0-50.92%; Taiwan: 0-33.99%; Korea: 50.99%) effective from February 18, 2026, through February 17, 2027 pending the review outcome.

According to SMM, a significant volume of Indonesian stainless steel coils remains stranded at Malaysian customs, causing anxiety among local traders and processing centers who are grappling with low inventory levels. However, market sources indicate a slight improvement, with recent reports that shipments are gradually beginning to clear customs.

[SMM News] SMM reported on June 12 that the US Department of Commerce (USDOC) issued an official announcement on June 4, 2025, deciding to terminate the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel coil and sheet imported from Belgium. The period of review for this investigation was from May 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024. The preliminary findings of the US Department of Commerce indicated that Aperam Stainless Belgium (ASB) did not sell the products in question at prices below normal value during the review period. In addition, based on an analysis of data from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), ArcelorMittal Gent, Phoenix Steel, Heraclesa, and Belgian Industrial Steel did not have any import records of the products in question during the review period.

Overall, according to data from the General Administration of Customs, China's total exports of HRC to Brazil in the first four months of 2025 amounted to only 211,000 mt, accounting for 2.70% of China's total HRC exports, indicating a limited overall impact. Data from 2025 shows that the top five countries for China's HRC exports were Vietnam, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and the UAE. Among them, Vietnam and South Korea have successively initiated anti-dumping investigations against China's HRC. Vietnam has already imposed provisional anti-dumping measures, and there have even been recent rumors that wide coils, which were previously excluded from the anti-dumping scope, might be added to the anti-dumping list again. On March 4 this year, South Korea officially announced the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation against China's hot-rolled steel coils. Currently, China's HRC, the largest category in terms of steel export share, is facing an increasing number of anti-dumping investigations. Perhaps for export traders, exploring ways to increase exports of products that are not yet subject to anti-dumping measures could be a wise strategy...

SMM News on May 30: To gain an in-depth understanding of the cutting-edge technologies and market trends in the high-end silicon steel sector, promote efficient collaboration among industry chain resources, and empower the green and intelligent upgrading of the power equipment industry, a delegation led by Xu De'an, Director of the Marketing Department, and Fan Cui, Director of the Motor Business Department, from SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (SMM), visited Hunan Hongwang New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hunan Hongwang") on May 26. They were warmly received by Zhan Lugang, Deputy General Manager of Hunan Hongwang. Both sides engaged in in-depth discussions on the silicon steel industry landscape, intelligent manufacturing technology innovation, low-carbon transformation pathways, and strategic cooperation opportunities. Focusing on the core track of silicon steel, intelligent manufacturing strength leads the transformation! Against the backdrop of the explosive growth of new energy vehicles (NEVs), accelerated construction of ultra-high voltage power grids, and iterative upgrades of high-efficiency motors, the market has set extremely high requirements for the performance (high magnetic induction, low iron loss, ultra-thin specifications) and green intelligent manufacturing capabilities of silicon steel products. As a rising force in the domestic silicon steel sector, Hunan Hongwang has established an intelligent production site. This visit and exchange have laid a solid foundation for future cooperation between the two sides and deepened mutual understanding and trust between SMM and Hunan Hongwang. As a platform connecting the upstream and downstream of the industry chain, SMM looks forward to deepening cooperation with outstanding local enterprises like Hunan Hongwang to jointly promote technological progress and market applications of silicon steel materials, contributing to the transformation and upgrading of China's high-end manufacturing industry. Hunan Hongwang New Material Technology Co., Ltd. Hunan Hongwang New Material Technology Co., Ltd. is the first high-end silicon steel project in the strategic layout of Hongwang Group. Established in 2021, as a key construction project for investment attraction in Hunan, it is located in the Louxing Industrial Development Zone, Loudi City. Hongwang Holding Group Co., Ltd. is an enterprise group specializing in the production of cold-rolled stainless steel, silicon steel, and supporting finishing products. It ranks 442nd among the Top 500 Chinese Enterprises, 228th among the Top 500 Chinese Manufacturing Enterprises, 223rd among the Top 500 Chinese Private Enterprises, and 155th among the Top 500 Chinese Private Manufacturing Enterprises in 2024 . The company has been awarded the title of " Advanced Enterprise in China's Stainless Steel Industry ". Relevant subsidiaries are national high-tech enterprises, and the product brand has been honored with the title of " Well-Known Trademark in China ", while product quality has been recognized with the title of " Quality and Integrity Trustworthy Unit ". Silicon steel, hailed as the "artwork" of the steel industry, is a key strategic material that promotes the upgrading and replacement of electrical products. The project covers an area of approximately 420 mu, with over 500 professional technical personnel. It mainly produces high magnetic induction grain-oriented silicon steel (HiB) and high-end silicon steel coils for new energy drive motors . The products are widely used in transformers, EVs, household appliances, industrial motors, construction machinery, power transmission and transformation, and other fields. Against the backdrop of the national "dual carbon" strategy, in September 2021, Hongwang Holding Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Loudi Municipal Government and Lianyuan Iron & Steel Group to jointly build the largest "silicon" valley new material base in central China. Adhering to the principles of low carbon and green development, and aiming for high standards, high quality, and high efficiency, Hunan Hongwang is constructing a model intelligent manufacturing factory in the silicon steel sector with an annual production capacity of 960,000 mt, creating a silicon steel deep-processing industrial cluster, and radiating influence across central China. Upholding the group's corporate mission of "focusing on green intelligent manufacturing and continuously creating value for customers," and adhering to the corporate vision of "realizing shared dreams," with "integrity, pragmatism, openness, and innovation" as its core values, Hunan Hongwang provides customers with high-quality products and excellent, stable services. SMM Conference Contact Person: Cui Fan Tel: 13816522387 Email: fancui@smm.cn