US Finalizes 3.7% Countervailing Duty on POSCO Plate, Adding Pressure on Korean Steel Exports

3.7% countervailing duty imposed on plate products

"We will continue working to secure a reasonable improvement in the rate in future reviews"

The US government has finalized a 3.7% countervailing duty, or CVD, on POSCO's plate products, adding to the export burden on South Korea's steel industry.

Industry officials said on May 19 that the US Commerce Department on May 14 finalized a 3.7% countervailing duty rate on POSCO's carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate products. The measure applies to shipments exported to the US in 2023. The same rate will apply to group affiliates including POSCO Holdings and POSCO Future M.

A countervailing duty is imposed when authorities determine that a product gained price competitiveness through government subsidies or similar support. The US has objected to South Korea's industrial electricity pricing system and its Korea Emissions Trading Scheme, or K-ETS, arguing that they amount to de facto subsidies. On that basis, Washington imposed a 0.87% countervailing duty on Korean plate exports for 2021 shipments and a 1.47% rate for 2022 shipments, raising the rate each year.

The Commerce Department made the latest decision while it remains in a legal dispute with POSCO. POSCO and the South Korean government filed suit at the US Court of International Trade in February 2024, challenging the department's countervailing duties. A POSCO official said the company would continue to respond diligently in upcoming reviews and work to secure a reasonable adjustment in the tariff rate.

The ruling adds to cost pressures for South Korea's steelmakers, which are already struggling with a construction downturn and an influx of low-priced Chinese steel. The tougher US protectionist stance is worsening export conditions for Korean steel producers. Industry officials have also raised the possibility that the Commerce Department could impose countervailing duties on shipments exported in 2024 and later. The US has applied a 50% tariff on South Korean steel since June 2025.

Shin Jeong-eun, Hankyung.com reporter, newyearis@hankyung.com