United States sets final countervailing duty rates of 1.28% for Hyundai Steel and 3.68% for POSCO on Korean hot-rolled steel, with new cash deposits from Oct. 9, 2026.
The U.S. Department of Commerce on Oct. 9, 2026, set final anti-subsidy duty rates of 1.28% for Hyundai Steel and 3.68% for POSCO on hot-rolled steel flat products from South Korea, with new cash deposits applying to shipments entered from that day1.
The rates close the department’s administrative review of the countervailing duty order on this steel, covering shipments made in 20231.
In short, U.S. buyers of hot-rolled steel made by Hyundai Steel or POSCO will pay these rates as a deposit at the border from now on. The same rates will also fix the final duty owed on the companies’ shipments that entered the United States during 2023.
What did Commerce decide on Korean hot-rolled steel?
Commerce published its final results in the Federal Register on Oct. 9, 20261. The notice found that Hyundai Steel Company and POSCO received countervailable subsidies, which are government help that the U.S. can offset with an extra import tax1.
The review covered the period from Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 20231. Commerce set one subsidy rate for each company, expressed as a share of the value of the goods:
- Hyundai Steel Company: 1.28% of the value of the steel
- POSCO: 3.68% of the value of the steel
These rates are "ad valorem", which means they are charged as a percentage of the declared value of each shipment1. The notice is dated Oct. 6, 2026, and was signed by Scot Fullerton, the acting deputy assistant secretary in charge of anti-dumping and countervailing duty operations1.
Why does the U.S. charge a subsidy duty on this steel?
A countervailing duty is an extra import tax that cancels out the benefit a foreign maker gets from its own government. The order on Korean hot-rolled steel was first published on Oct. 3, 20162. An administrative review checks how much subsidy the Korean makers really received in a given period1.
For each program it counts, Commerce must find three things1. The government must give a financial contribution, that contribution must give the company a benefit, and the help must be "specific", meaning aimed at certain firms or industries rather than open to all1. Commerce ran the review under section 751(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 19301.
The reasoning for each program is in a longer paper called the Issues and Decision Memorandum1. The final notice lists the questions that paper answers. They show which kinds of Korean government help were under dispute.
Which Korean programs did the parties argue over?
The final notice lists eight issues raised by the parties in their written arguments1. They cover energy, loans, carbon permits and even a workplace benefit:
- Cheap electricity: whether the Government of Korea subsidizes the electricity it supplies
- Carbon permits: whether permits under the Korea Emissions Trading System (K-ETS) count as a subsidy
- POSCO International’s electricity: whether Commerce wrongly added electricity benefits received by POSCO International Corporation to POSCO’s rate
- Electricity price benchmark: whether Commerce chose the right comparison price for electricity
- Overseas investment loan: whether a loan to POSCO International from the Korea Export-Import Bank (KEXIM) is tied to other products
- Benchmark for that loan: whether Commerce should change the comparison rate for it
- Export growth loans: whether to change the comparison interest rate for a KEXIM export growth loan program
- Workplace nurseries: whether a program for building and running workplace childcare centers is a subsidy
The notice itself does not give the answer to each question. It points readers to the Issues and Decision Memorandum for the full discussion1.
How did the rates change since April?
Commerce published its preliminary results on April 10, 20262. At that stage it set 1.28% for Hyundai Steel and 3.71% for POSCO2.
Subsidy rates, preliminary and final
| Company | April 10, 2026 | Oct. 9, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Steel | 1.28% | 1.28% |
| POSCO | 3.71% | 3.68% |
After reading comments from the parties, Commerce made "certain changes" to the way it worked out POSCO’s rate1. POSCO’s final rate fell to 3.68%, a drop of 0.03 percentage points. Hyundai Steel’s rate stayed at 1.28%1.
The change is small, but it applies to every POSCO shipment that the review covers. The notice does not say which program caused the cut; that detail is also in the Issues and Decision Memorandum1.
The final results were late compared with the first plan. On Aug. 7, 2026, Commerce moved its deadline to Sept. 30, 20261. On Sept. 29, 2026, it added seven more days, to Oct. 7, 20261.
Which companies does the review cover?
Commerce started this review on Nov. 14, 20242. On Dec. 17, 2024, it chose Hyundai Steel and POSCO as the mandatory respondents, the companies it examines in full2.
Steps in the 2023 review
Each rate also covers related companies that Commerce treats as one group with the named firm. Hyundai Green Power Co. Ltd is counted together with Hyundai Steel1. The POSCO rate covers these linked firms1:
- POSCO Future M
- POSCO Holdings
- POSCO M-Tech
- POSCO Nippon Steel RHF Joint Venture Co., Ltd.
- POSCO Mobility Solutions
POSCO also sold some steel through its trading company, POSCO International Corporation1. Commerce examined that company as part of POSCO, and its subsidies are included in POSCO’s 3.68% rate1.
The review originally reached further. In April, Commerce dropped 13 companies from the review because the records showed they had no shipments of this steel under suspended duties during 20232. No party objected when Commerce announced that plan on March 9, 20262.
What happens at the U.S. border now?
The final notice changes two things for importers: the deposit on new shipments and the final bill on old ones.
For new shipments, Commerce will tell U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits, money paid at entry as security for the duty1. The deposits apply at the new company rates to steel entered, or taken out of a bonded warehouse for sale, on or after Oct. 9, 20261. They stay in place until Commerce says otherwise1.
For steel from firms that were not reviewed, nothing changes. CBP will keep collecting deposits at each firm’s latest company rate, or at the "all-others" rate where no company rate applies1.
For shipments that entered during 2023, CBP will set the final duty at the new rates1. This process is called liquidation, the final settling of the duty on an import entry. Importers who paid a deposit at a different rate will either pay the difference or get money back.
When will customs settle the 2023 entries?
Commerce plans to send its assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the Oct. 9 publication1. Those instructions tell customs to charge the final rates on the 2023 entries.
There is one condition. If a party files a timely summons at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the instructions will tell CBP to wait1. CBP will then hold off on liquidating the affected entries until the time to ask for a court order to stop it has passed, which is within 90 days of publication1.
Commerce also said it will show its calculations to the interested parties within five days of publication1. Parties that disagree with the numbers can use these to prepare a court challenge.
How does this fit with the anti-dumping duties?
Korean hot-rolled steel faces a second, separate duty. An anti-dumping duty is an extra import tax on goods sold abroad below their normal price. On May 14, 2026, Commerce published the final results of its anti-dumping review of the same steel, covering sales from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 20243.
Anti-dumping margins on Korean hot-rolled steel, %
That review set dumping margins of 1.49% for Hyundai Steel and 1.22% for POSCO and POSCO International Corporation3. For other Korean makers not covered by any review, the anti-dumping deposit stays at 6.05%, the rate set in the original investigation3.
The two duties answer different questions. The anti-dumping duty targets low prices, while the countervailing duty targets government help. An importer of Korean hot-rolled steel may therefore pay a deposit under both orders on the same shipment.
The anti-dumping notice also reminded importers of a paperwork rule3. Before liquidation, importers must file a certificate saying whether the foreign seller paid back any anti-dumping or countervailing duties3. Without it, Commerce may presume such repayment happened and double the anti-dumping duty, or raise it by the amount of the countervailing duty3.
Key points on the Korean hot-rolled steel subsidy duties
The table sums up the final results of the 2023 review.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What changed? | Final subsidy duty rates set |
| Who issued it? | U.S. Department of Commerce |
| Which goods? | Hot-rolled steel flat products from Korea |
| Period reviewed | Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023 |
| Hyundai Steel rate | 1.28% |
| POSCO rate | 3.68% (3.71% in April) |
| New deposits apply from | Oct. 9, 2026 |
| Who collects? | U.S. Customs and Border Protection |
| Companies dropped from review | 13 |
| Customs instructions | No earlier than 35 days after Oct. 9 |
| Separate anti-dumping margins | 1.49% Hyundai, 1.22% POSCO |
From Oct. 9, 2026, each new U.S. shipment of hot-rolled steel from Hyundai Steel or POSCO carries a deposit at the new rate1. Commerce’s instructions to settle the 2023 entries can go to customs no earlier than 35 days after that date1.
Sources
- ↩ Federal Register :: Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic of Korea: Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2023 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/09/2026-20778/certain-hot-rolled-steel-flat-products-from-the-republic-of-korea-final-results-of-countervailing
- ↩ Federal Register :: Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results and Rescission, in Part, of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2023 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/10/2026-07001/certain-hot-rolled-steel-flat-products-from-the-republic-of-korea-preliminary-results-and-rescission
- ↩ Federal Register :: Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic of Korea: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2023-2024 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/14/2026-09707/certain-hot-rolled-steel-flat-products-from-the-republic-of-korea-final-results-of-antidumping-duty