Japan Imposes Five-Year Duties on Chinese and Taiwanese Stainless Steel Sheet

Japan will charge anti-dumping duties of 3.6% to 42.1% on nickel stainless steel sheet from China and Taiwan from Oct. 31, 2026.

Japan’s Cabinet approved five-year anti-dumping duties of 3.6% to 42.1% on nickel stainless steel sheet from China and Taiwan, starting Oct. 31, 2026.

The Cabinet acted on Oct. 27, 2026, through a Cabinet Order prepared by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)¹. The order will be made public on Oct. 30, 2026, and the duty applies from Oct. 31, 2026, to Oct. 30, 2031².

In short, flat stainless steel from China or Taiwan that contains nickel will keep paying an extra import tax in Japan for five more years. The rates stay exactly where the temporary duty set them in July.

What is changing for stainless steel imports?

Since July 9, 2026, these goods have paid a provisional anti-dumping duty in Japan¹. An anti-dumping duty is an extra import tax on goods sold abroad below their normal price. A provisional duty is a temporary one, charged while the investigation is still running.

The temporary duty was set to run from July 9, 2026, to Nov. 8, 2026³. The new Cabinet Order replaces it with a definitive anti-dumping duty, the final duty that ends the case¹. The definitive duty runs from Oct. 31, 2026, to Oct. 30, 2031¹.

The rates do not change. The definitive rates are the same as the provisional rates, and they range from 3.6% to 42.1%². For a buyer in Japan, the price gap between these imports and Japanese-made steel stays where it has been since July.

The main change is time. A duty that was due to end in November now has a five-year life.

Which stainless steel products does the duty cover?

The goods are nickel-added cold-rolled stainless steel coil, sheet and strip¹. Put simply, these are thin, flat rolls and sheets of stainless steel made by rolling the metal at room temperature. The nickel inside them separates them from cheaper nickel-free grades.

The ministries define the product as an alloy steel with 10.5% or more chromium and more than 0.6% nickel by weight¹. The METI release says the steel resists rust, keeps the strength of steel and gives a clean, attractive finish. It adds that the steel is used in a wide range of products¹.

Japan Customs lists the product’s scope in more detail on its page for the case⁴. The duty covers flat-rolled cold-rolled stainless steel with more than 0.6% nickel, whether or not it contains other elements⁴. It covers any thickness, width and shape⁴.

Which goods and places are left out?

Some stainless steel products fall outside the duty. Japan Customs excludes steel that is plated, coated or clad, meaning covered with a layer of another metal or material⁴. It also excludes steel with holes in its surface, even after final processing⁴.

The duty also has a geographic limit. It applies to goods from the People’s Republic of China, but not to goods from Hong Kong or Macao¹. It also applies to goods from Taiwan, which Japan’s documents name as the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu¹.

The duty reaches goods "originating in or exported from" China and Taiwan¹. So the order can catch steel made in those places and steel shipped from them.

Which customs codes are affected?

Japan Customs lists eight product codes under the Harmonized System (HS), the international list of customs codes⁴. The codes are:

• 7219.31, 7219.32, 7219.33, 7219.34 and 7219.35
• 7219.90
• 7220.20 and 7220.90

A code alone does not decide the duty. A shipment under one of these codes must also meet the product description, including the nickel content, to be covered⁴.

Why did Japan impose the duty?

The case began with a complaint from four Japanese steelmakers. On May 12, 2025, the Minister of Finance received their application for an anti-dumping duty⁵. The four companies were:

• NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
• Nippon Yakin Kogyo Co., Ltd.
• NAS Stainless Steel Strip MFG. Co., Ltd.
• NIPPON KINZOKU CO., LTD.

The ministries found that the application had enough evidence to justify an investigation⁵. They opened a joint investigation on July 22, 2025⁵.

The investigation found two facts. Dumped steel had entered Japan, and those imports had caused material injury, meaning serious harm, to Japanese producers¹. The ministries also found that the domestic industry needed protection¹. The METI release says these findings followed the investigation that the application started¹.

How did the stainless steel case unfold?

The case followed a set path from complaint to final duty. The steps were:

1. Four Japanese steelmakers applied for a duty on May 12, 2025⁵.
2. MOF and METI opened the investigation on July 22, 2025⁵.
3. The ministries made a preliminary finding of dumping and injury on June 19, 2026⁶.
4. On the same day, they extended the investigation by four months, to Nov. 21, 2026⁷.
5. A government advisory council backed a provisional duty on June 23, 2026³.
6. The provisional duty started on July 9, 2026³.
7. The council backed a five-year definitive duty on Oct. 19, 2026¹.
8. The Cabinet approved the definitive duty on Oct. 27, 2026¹.

The advisory body is the Council on Customs, Tariff, Foreign Exchange and Other Transactions². It advises the government on customs and tariff questions.

Investigations of this kind should end within one year. But the period can be extended by up to six months for special reasons⁷. The ministries said they extended this case to review the evidence and documents from the companies involved with care⁷.

During the investigation, the ministries sent questionnaires to foreign makers, importers, Japanese producers and industrial users⁴. Japan Customs warned that companies that did not answer could face a decision based on the facts available⁴.

Who pays the anti-dumping duty?

Importers in Japan pay the duty when the goods enter the country. The rate depends on the case’s findings and ranges from 3.6% to 42.1%².

Buyers of the steel will feel the cost. These include Japanese factories that use thin stainless sheet to make their own products. Exporters in China and Taiwan face a higher landed price in Japan for five years.

Japanese stainless steel makers gain the most. Their foreign rivals with the highest rates now pay a 42.1% charge on top of their price².

Steel from Hong Kong or Macao does not pay this duty¹. Coated or plated sheets also stay outside it⁴.

When do the new duties start and end?

The provisional duty ran from July 9, 2026³. The definitive duty takes over on Oct. 31, 2026, the day after the Cabinet Order is made public on Oct. 30¹. The definitive duty lasts until Oct. 30, 2031¹.

The provisional duty was set to end on Nov. 8, 2026³. So the final duty starts before the temporary one would have expired. Shipments keep paying the same rates without a gap.

The extended investigation period runs to Nov. 21, 2026⁷. The Cabinet decision came before that deadline.

Key points on Japan’s stainless steel duty

The table sums up the main facts of the Cabinet Order.

The Cabinet Order will be made public on Oct. 30, 2026, and the duty applies to shipments from Oct. 31, 2026¹. Nickel stainless steel sheet from China and Taiwan will pay up to 42.1% extra at Japan’s border until Oct. 30, 2031².

Sources

1. ↩ Decision to Impose a Definitive Anti-Dumping Duty on Nickel-Added Cold-Rolled Stainless Steel Coil, Sheet and Strip Originating in or Exported from the People’s Republic of China and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu/METI Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2026/10/20261027001.html
2. ↩ Decision to Impose Definitive Anti-Dumping Duties on Nickel-added cold-rolled stainless steel coil, sheet and strip originating in or exported from the People’s Republic of China and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu : Ministry of Finance https://www.mof.go.jp/english/policy/customs_tariff/traderemedy/20261027_e.html
3. ↩ Decision to impose a Provisional Anti-Dumping Duty on Nickel-added cold-rolled stainless steel coil, sheet, and strip originating in or exported from the People’s Republic of China and the Separate CustomsTerritory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu : Ministry of Finance https://www.mof.go.jp/english/policy/customs_tariff/traderemedy/ka20260703-2_e.html
4. ↩ Nickel-added cold-rolled stainless steel coil, sheet and strip originating in the People’s Republic of China (excluding the regions of Hong Kong and Macao) and Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu : Japan Customs https://www.customs.go.jp/english/traderemedy/stainless_e.html
5. ↩ Initiation of an Anti-Dumping Duty Investigation of Nickel-added cold-rolled stainless steel coil, sheet and strip Originating in the People’s Republic of China and Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu : Ministry of Finance https://www.mof.go.jp/english/policy/customs_tariff/traderemedy/ka20250722_e.html
6. ↩ Preliminary determination of Anti-Dumping Duty Investigation of Nickel-added cold-rolled stainless steel coil, sheet, and strip originating in the People’s Republic of China and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu : Ministry of Finance https://www.mof.go.jp/english/policy/customs_tariff/traderemedy/ka20260619-1_e.html
7. ↩ Extension of the Period of Investigation of Nickel-added cold-rolled stainless steel coil, sheet and strip originating in the People’s Republic of China and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu : Ministry of Finance https://www.mof.go.jp/english/policy/customs_tariff/traderemedy/ka20260619-2_e.html