Taiwan’s imports of hot-rolled stainless steel from mainland China have increased.

　　According to relevant trade data, the volume of stainless steel flat products imported from mainland China into Taiwan continues to rise, though Yehlian and Tangrong are no longer overly concerned. An official at Yehlian stated, “Since the imposition of anti-dumping duties, there has been no significant influx of cold‑rolled stainless steel from mainland China into the Taiwanese market; most imports consist of hot‑rolled grades and 400‑series stainless steels. The prices of imported hot‑rolled products are highly competitive. Some Taiwanese cold‑rolling mills source imported hot‑rolled material based on price and quality, while others opt for locally produced grades.” Both steelmakers said they remain closely monitoring import trends in stainless steel, but so far have no plans to file additional anti‑dumping complaints. A Tangrong representative added, “The increase in imported hot‑rolled material does affect us, but we cannot prevent all such imports from entering the market. This also gives us an additional option: when our smelting costs are high, we can choose to roll imported hot‑rolled stock.”

　　Since August 15 last year, Taiwan has imposed anti-dumping duties on 300-series cold-rolled coil imported from South Korea and mainland China. However, official Taiwanese data show that stainless steel imports from these two countries continue to rise: during September–December 2013, imports of flat stainless steel products wider than 600 mm from mainland China increased by 33.2% year on year, reaching 250,000 tonnes.