The UK's Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), an agency under the Department for Business and Trade, has abruptly launched an anti-dumping investigation into certain steel products from South Korea. This action follows a complaint from local company Spartan UK, which claims that a sharp increase in imports of South Korean hot rolled plate has caused injury to the UK's domestic industry. The South Korean steel industry is closely monitoring the progress of this investigation.

The TRA announced that the investigation commenced on June 6. The products under investigation are hot rolled flat products with a width of 600mm or more and a thickness of 4.75mm or more, which are primarily used as essential materials in various industrial sectors, including bridge construction, machinery manufacturing, and shipbuilding. The TRA will intensively examine whether South Korean products imported between April 2024 and March 2025 were dumped, and whether the UK industry suffered injury from April 2021 to March 2025.

The background to this investigation is the expanding market share of South Korean hot rolled plate in the UK. According to TRA data, imports of South Korean hot rolled steel plate into the UK surged approximately 2.8 times, from 14,000 tons in 2021 to 40,000 tons in 2024. Spartan UK alleges that these dumped imports of South Korean products have caused severe damage to the UK domestic market, including price declines, reduced sales volumes, and deteriorating profitability and productivity.

The TRA plans to proceed with the investigation as follows. First, it will gather opinions from the South Korean government and relevant South Korea-UK industries by August 2025. Subsequently, it will conduct an in-depth investigation, including on-site verification visits and data analysis, by February 2026. If a need for remedial measures is recognized, the TRA will meticulously review whether such measures align with the overall economic interests of the UK through an 'Economic Interest Test.' The final recommendation is expected to be issued in August 2026.

This anti-dumping investigation could significantly impact South Korean steel exports to the UK, heightening tension among domestic steel companies. Particularly, the UK has been pursuing independent trade policies since its departure from the European Union (EU), and this investigation is expected to be an important case for gauging the direction of the UK's trade remedy policy. The domestic industry concerned plans to actively cooperate with the UK's investigation, while also preparing to strongly respond if the measures are deemed unfair. The government is also expected to closely monitor this matter and seek various support measures to minimize damage to domestic companies.

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