Japan plans to impose provisional anti-dumping duties from July on nickel-based cold-rolled stainless steel sheets and coils from Chinese Taiwan, Chinese Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs stated on June 22 that overall export damage is limited: China Steel Corporation does not produce the investigated products; leading exporter Yusco secured the lowest rate of 3.86%, preserving its competitive position; and Walsin Lihwa primarily exports non-investigated products to Japan. Domestic mills note that Japan represents a minor share of Chinese Taiwan's total stainless steel exports. Government officials have pledged to maintain dialogue with Japanese counterparts and support local industries in adopting AI and low-carbon technologies.

【SMM Steel】Taiwan's China Steel Corporation is preparing to sue Indonesian hot-rolled coil exporters for dumping, as Indonesian HRC orders to Taiwan exceeded 5000 tonnes in June alone surpassing all of last year's volume. CSC called the move "pure hostility" and said it has evidence for a trade lawsuit. Meanwhile Taiwan also faces separate AD allegations from Japan over hot-rolled steel filed by Nippon Steel and others. Japan launched AD probes on June 1 covering HR and CR flat steel from China South Korea and Taiwan. Estimated dumping margins for Taiwan HRC 3-20% and CRC 2-15%. Taiwan's industry is split between counter-retaliation and negotiated settlement.

[SMM Analysis] Weak Downstream Consumption Increases Pressure on Ex-China Steel Trading Price spread model, the price inversion of Chinese steel relative to overseas markets (India, Japan, Turkey, Black Sea) deepened further in late May. In particular, Chinese resources were cheaper compared to Indonesia, and the price spread was "narrowing at an accelerating pace." For pure ex-China inter-regional price spreads, India's decline was more pronounced compared to other regions, as weak domestic demand drove aggressive low-price bidding. Segment-wise, steel procurement sentiment in Southeast Asia became more cautious last week, with coil prices weakening. In Vietnam, coated steel and steel pipe prices began to slow down after a prolonged rally, and buyers became increasingly cautious about restocking ahead of the rainy season. Meanwhile, due to weak demand and growing pressure from low-priced imports, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, a subsidiary of Taiwan's China Steel Corporation, also cut its HRC quotations by $5-10/mt to $598-603/mt CIF Vietnam. Although some Vietnamese downstream steel mills continued to raise or maintain prices due to earlier increases in raw material costs and tight spot supply, some producers had begun to limit orders or delay quotations while waiting for a clearer market direction. Notably, Indonesian HRC quotations remained competitive with relatively active exports, with FOB prices at around $565/mt. According to SMM survey, recent transaction prices to Vietnam were around $585/mt CFR. Turkey market: As the Middle East was set to enter a long holiday mid-week, most market participants had already exited early. According to SMM survey, no clear large-volume transactions were seen in the Turkish steel scrap market last week. Meanwhile, as domestic rebar demand remained sluggish, steel mills pushed their target purchase prices for European HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap below $400/mt CFR to pass on the pressure. The recent euro depreciation and slight correction in ocean freight rates opened up some discount room for European sellers to a certain extent, but judging from actual market transactions, sellers still found it difficult to accept such low prices. At the same time, US exporters continued to hold prices firm at $420/mt CFR. In addition, mainstream quotations for Turkish domestic HRC remained at $660-675/mt EXW. Due to exchange rate fluctuations and high production costs, steel mills were striving to hold prices firm, but downstream buyers remained cautious in purchasing, with expected psychological prices 15-20 $/mt lower. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. 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[SMM Steel] Hoa Phat Group increased HRC prices by $50/t, above market expectations, signaling a stronger price floor in Asia. The hike is driven by higher iron ore and coal costs, reduced low-priced import pressure, and steady regional demand. It is expected to lift downstream prices (CRC, GI) and may prompt price increases from China Steel Corporation for June bookings.

【SMM Steel】Taiwan's China Steel Corporation (CSC) is set to announce its February domestic sales prices next week, bringing the Asian steel market into a price-sensitive period earlier than usual. Against the backdrop of limited steel exports from mainland China and slight price increases from Vietnamese mills, the market widely believes that CSC has exhausted its room for further price reductions. Market participants indicated that some South Korean traders have recently been testing purchasing intentions from Taiwanese buyers, but the overall attitude remains conservative, as they are reluctant to bear high costs before demand recovers. Market analysis points out that February coincides with the Lunar New Year and a series of holidays, resulting in a limited number of effective working days. CSC's pricing needs to not only reflect international market trends but also stimulate downstream deliveries and stabilize sales to avoid impacting the market in the first quarter of 2026. Overall, current steel prices remain at low levels. Although raw material costs and related policies provide some support for the current trend, CSC still needs to boost market confidence. Furthermore, order intake by South Korean traders is not ideal, indicating that buyers are becoming increasingly cautious about controlling import costs.

【SMM Steel】Taiwan's Customs Administration announced an anti-dumping investigation on cold-rolled non-oriented electrical steel products from South Korea and China on December 15, following China Steel Corporation's application alleging unfairly priced imports potentially harming domestic industry. The Customs Administration initiated the probe after concluding reasonable suspicion of dumping and injury. The Ministry of Economic Affairs will preliminarily determine industry damage within 40 days, followed by the Ministry of Finance's dumping assessment within 70 days to decide provisional AD duties, with interested parties required to submit information within 20 days of the announcement. The products involved are cold-rolled non-oriented electrical steel with thickness 0.135-0.715 mm, excluding steel tested at 50 Hz and maximum magnetic flux density 1.5Wb/m2 with iron loss values above 13.00W/kg or below 1.80W/kg, primarily used in motors, transformers, voltage regulators and electromagnetic switches, classified under 26 HS codes.

Chinese Taipei's two largest steel groups, China Steel Corporation (CSC) and E-United Group (Yusco), have launched a major partnership. To support Yusco's extensive production line upgrade, CSC will take over hot-rolled stainless steel processing during Yusco's hot rolling mill shutdown. The estimated processing volume is up to 50,000 tonnes monthly for a six-month period. This unprecedented cross-group cooperation is seen as vital for maintaining Yusco’s market position.

【SMM Steel】Taiwan's Environment and Economic Ministries will implement the carbon fee mechanism in April next year, with payments due by end-May. The fee structure provides discounts for high carbon leakage risk industries including steel and cement to support industrial transition. China Steel Corporation, with 18.75 million metric tons of emissions in 2024, qualifies for preferential rates due to its SBTi commitment to reduce emissions by 25.2% by 2030. Applying the first-year high carbon leakage risk factor, CSC's effective fee is estimated at NT$10 per ton, resulting in approximately NT$100 million in carbon fee payments next year. Environmental authorities noted CSC's investments in decarbonization equipment and technology exceed the carbon fee payment by dozens of times.

【SMM Steel】China Steel Corporation (CSC), Taiwan’s largest carbon steel producer, has announced a NT$373 million investment to accelerate research and development in low-carbon iron and steelmaking technologies. CSC President Shou-Tao Chen stated that, beyond practical carbon management, the company has established a “Blast Furnace Low-Carbon Ironmaking Technology Development” team, working with 13 academic and research institutions and 26 experts to advance breakthrough technologies. This initiative aligns with CSC’s “2 Axes, 3 Transitions” strategy, which focuses on High-value steel and green energy development, Digital transformation, Low-carbon transition and Supply chain optimisation. Since 2018, CSC has cut carbon emissions by 15.2%, completing 868 emission reduction projects. In 2024, the company’s green revenue share reached 32.6%, supported by high-strength automotive steel and recycled steel products.