The Trade Commission of South Korea has concluded that imports of hot-rolled products, specifically carbon steel and other alloy steel from Japan and China, are being dumped, resulting in significant damage to the domestic industry. On March 23, it was announced that the commission would recommend imposing anti-dumping duties, with rates of 31.58% to 33.43% for Japanese products and 28.16% to 33.10% for Chinese products. This decision follows an investigation initiated in December 2024 by Hyundai Steel, which has been under provisional anti-dumping duties since September of the previous year. The Trade Commission emphasized the importance of these hot-rolled products, which are critical raw materials used across various domestic manufacturing sectors, including cold-rolled steel, pipes, automotive, shipbuilding, machinery, construction, railways, and energy. The domestic market for these products is valued at approximately 10 trillion won, highlighting the intense competition among companies from Korea, Japan, and China. In addition to recommending anti-dumping duties, the commission has proposed price commitments from three Japanese companies and six Chinese companies, which currently account for about 81% of hot-rolled product imports in the domestic market from 2022 to 2024. If these companies voluntarily raise their export prices and adhere to the price agreements, it is anticipated that domestic shipments will increase by over 1 million tons, improving the market share by 8.9%.