WTO Announces Japan v. China Stainless Steel Anti dumping

The head of the Treaty and Legal Department of the Ministry of Commerce responded to the report of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Expert Group on Japan v. China’s anti-dumping measures against stainless steel on June 19.
The person in charge of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Commerce stated that the expert group has supported China’s claims in terms of cumulative assessment of the impact of imported products and handling of confidential information, and China welcomes this; China regrets the decision made by the expert group on issues such as price impact analysis and non attribution analysis, and states that China will properly carry out the follow-up work of this case in accordance with WTO rules.
It is reported that on July 22, 2019, the Ministry of Commerce of China issued a final ruling, ultimately ruling that imported stainless steel billets and hot-rolled stainless steel plates/coils originating from the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia were subject to dumping, causing substantial damage to the domestic industry, and there is a causal relationship between dumping and substantial damage. Since July 23, 2019, China has decided to impose Dumping (pricing policy)#Anti-dumping actions on imported stainless steel billets and hot rolled stainless steel plates/coils originating from the EU, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, with the tax rate ranging from 18.1% to 103.1% and the collection period of 5 years.
In 2021, Japan requested to consult with China on the dispute under the WTO over China’s imposition of Dumping (pricing policy)#Anti-dumping actions on some Japanese stainless steel products (billets/slabs, plates and coils). The Japanese side claimed at the time that the measures implemented by China in 2019 seemed to be inconsistent with the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Anti Dumping Agreement of 1994. On September 27, 2021, the WTO Dispute Resolution Body agreed to the request to establish an expert group on this matter and appointed its members in January 2022.
At present, China and Japan have agreed to conduct arbitration in accordance with the arbitration procedures stipulated in Article 25 of the Understanding on Dispute Settlement Rules and Procedures.