US tariffs on Korean steel may be cut

The US Court of International Trade (USCIT) stalled the market - a method the US Commerce Department used to impose high tariffs on South Korean steel. South Korean steel companies expect a recent court ruling to help them avoid massive tariffs.

USCIT recently released its judgment regarding oil company tubular goods (OCTG) manufactured by Nexteel, Hyundai Steel, Husteel, AJU Besteel, SeAH Steel and Iljin. These companies have previously filed a lawsuit against the US government, claiming that the department's annual review definition is incorrect.

USCIT told the department to reverse the PMS definition and recalculate anti-dumping duty rates. Tariff rates applied to companies may be reduced after the department does so.

South Korean steelmakers said the court's ruling is expected to prevent the department from misusing tariffs, although this time USCIT questioned not the system itself, but how to apply it.

Earlier, in October 2016, the ministry issued a preliminary annual review of OCTG and imposed anti-dumping duties of 8.04%, 3.80% and 5.92% for Nexteel, SeAH Steel and others, respectively. When finalized in April 2017, rates were adjusted to 24.92 percent, 2.76 percent and 13.84 percent.