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According to South Korean trade statistics, hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports in March 2026 totaled 125,000 tonnes, down 45.4% year-on-year and 18.7% month-on-month.
By source, imports from Japan amounted to 100,000 tonnes—marking the second consecutive month exceeding the 100,000-tonne mark—an increase of 2.9% year-on-year. ASTM A463 Deep drawing steel strip ,Imports from Vietnam and Taiwan stood at 12,000 tonnes each (up from zero in the same period last year). In contrast, imports from China dropped sharply to 988 tonnes—falling below the 1,000-tonne threshold—compared to 131,000 tonnes during the same period last year.
Regarding trade policy, the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) issued a recommendation in late February to impose tariffs following its anti-dumping investigation into hot-rolled coils from Japan and China. The recommended duty rates range from 31.58% to 33.43% for Japanese products and from 28.16% to 33.10% for Chinese products. ASTM A463 Deep drawing steel strip ,Concurrently, the KTC recommended accepting five-year price undertakings proposed by Japanese companies—including JFE Steel, Nippon Steel, and Tokyo Steel—as well as six Chinese firms. While there remains potential for a recovery in Chinese exports to South Korea if pricing is favorable, the export volume is likely to remain constrained by profitability considerations.
Statistics show that South Korea’s cumulative imports of hot-rolled coils totaled 397,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2026, a year-on-year decline of 44.6%. ASTM A463 Deep drawing steel strip ,Based on annualized figures, total imports for the year are projected at approximately 1.6 million tonnes, a decrease of about 1 million tonnes compared to the 2.58 million tonnes recorded in 2025. Of this total, imports from Japan amounted to 321,000 tonnes—down 18.8% year-on-year but accounting for over 80% of the total—while imports from China fell to 8,200 tonnes, representing a sharp year-on-year drop of 97.4%.
