TOKYO, Reuters – Japan’s chief lobby for the main steel industry said Tuesday that it considered taking legal action against the European Union’s decision on Tuesday to increase antidumping measures for electrical steel imported from Japan.

The EU increased the minimum price for electric steel produced by the United States, Japan, China and Russia for five years. This was on Monday because producers might otherwise sell it to the EU.

Eiji Hashimoto of Japan Iron and Steel Federation stated that “The Japanese Steel Industry will carefully examine this decision and determine the proper course of actions.”

The Japanese steel industry claimed, during the EU’s expiry review, that lifting anti-dumping regulations would not cause any material injury in future. However, Hashimoto stated that the EU had rejected Japan’s claims.

According to a Japanese official, despite the EU placing minimum prices on grain-oriented flat-rolled silicon-electric steel products (GOES), EU imports from Japan remained at between 20,000 and 30,000 tonnes per year in 2016 and 2020. This is up from 15,000 tonnes in 2015.

Power transformers use GOES.

Official said that while the EU may have a limited impact on Japanese steel imports, they are still able to purchase the Japanese material at prices well above their minimum price. However, the EU will be defending free trade.