Japanese Government Launches Investigation into Dumping of Korean Potassium Carbonate

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Japanese government announced on the 29th that it will begin an investigation into allegations of dumping sales of Korean-made potassium carbonate.

The Japanese Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced on the same day that they will start an investigation to determine whether to impose anti-dumping duties, citing allegations that Korean-made potassium carbonate is being sold at unfairly low prices in Japan.

The Japanese government stated that this investigation was initiated after a related Japanese industry group filed a request on April 30th to the Minister of Finance for the imposition of anti-dumping duties on Korean products, claiming that they suffered losses due to price reduction pressure caused by the low-priced sales of Korean products.

Potassium carbonate, a white powder, is used as a raw material for glass used in liquid crystal panels and solutions mixed with neutralizing powder. According to data from the Japanese Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which handle anti-dumping investigations, 5,293 tons of Korean-made potassium carbonate were exported to Japan last year.

The investigation is generally to be completed within one year. The Japanese government plans to proceed with the submission of evidence from interested parties and collect objective evidence regarding on-site investigations of Korean and Japanese companies. The Japanese government stated, "Based on this, we will verify the facts regarding whether dumped cargo imports and the resulting substantial damage to our industry exist in accordance with the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements and related domestic laws, and then determine the necessity of imposing duties."

Meanwhile, the Japanese government currently imposes anti-dumping duties on two Korean-made imported products: potassium hydroxide (since August 2016) and steel pipe fittings (since March 2018).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.