S. Korea slaps AD duties on Japanese pneumatic transmission valves

21/01/2015 12:00 - 525 Views

SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's trade commission said Wednesday it will recommend anti-dumping duties be levied on Japanese pneumatic transmission valves for five years to protect local manufacturers from unfair price-cutting.

The recommendation, to be made to the finance ministry which has the final say on tariffs, calls for punitive duties of 11.66 percent for SMC Corp. and 23.97 percent for CKD Corp. and all other Japanese manufacturers, the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) said.

"Once the action is taken, local companies that have been unduly hurt by undercutting practices will be able to regain price competitiveness and compete on a level playing field with rivals," the KTC claimed.

A pneumatic transmission valve controls motors in various machines using compressed air. It is used in cars and electronic products, as well as industrial machinery.

As of last year, the domestic market stood at 64.7 billion won (US$59.5 million), with 23 percent or 14.8 billion won worth being supplied by domestic manufacturers and the rest imported from abroad.

TPC Mechatronics Corp. and KCC Co. are the main domestic manufacturers of the product. The two companies requested an anti-dumping probe in December 2013.

A formal probe into the case started in February of last year and ended last October with a public hearing.

Source: Yonhap