Malaysia's trade ministry announced that it has placed temporary anti-dumping duties on certain shipments of non-alloy steel and flat-rolled iron products from South Korea, Japan, India and China. 

The duties, effective from January 11 and lasting up to 120 days for now will apply to products wider than 600 mm (24 inches) and range between 2.52% and 36.80%, the ministry announced on Monday. A final decision on these provisional anti-dumping duties is expected by May 10, and feedback on the preliminary decision can be submitted by January 20, according to the ministry's statement. The judgment came after a petition from the domestic business prompted an investigation into the products from China, India, Japan and South Korea which was initiated in August. 

The petitioner claimed that the imports were being sold at prices much lower than the domestic prices in the four countries, which had caused significant harm to Malaysia's industry, the ministry said. Separately, a senior government official with firsthand knowledge of the situation told Reuters that the anti-dumping charge is unlikely to have an impact on India's finished steel exports due to the country's extremely low export quantities to Southeast Asia. 

In 2023–2024, India exported 36,000 metric tons of completed steel to Malaysia, a 78% decrease from 2019–20, the official said, adding that although the anti-dumping charge would impact two-way trade, it was unlikely to have an impact on New Delhi's total steel exports.  The steel ministry of India did not respond right away to an email from Reuters seeking their comment.