Taiwan’s leading stainless steel producer Yieh United Steel Corp. (Yusco) is preparing to file an anti-dumping (AD) petition against 304 cold-rolled steel coils imported from Vietnam. Yusco and legal teams are in the final stage of data compilation and plan to submit the application by mid-October.

The possible lawsuit is causing a change in the local market. Importers of Vietnamese material are still engaged in order solicitation, but their activity has become noticeably more subdued. Downstream buyers are also being cautious, slowing their purchasing due to fears of being affected by the AD investigation.

Domestic steel mills said that the news of the impending lawsuit has reduced the volume of import solicitations, which were previously common in multi-thousand-ton quantities. The narrowing price gap between imported and domestic materials, due to a weakening NT dollar, also promotes buyer reassessment.