一、 Changing trade policies

1、South Korea imposes temporary anti-dumping duties on Chinese hot-rolled stainless steel plates

On March 25, 2025, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance of South Korea issued Announcement No. 2025-10, deciding to impose a four-month temporary anti-dumping duty of 21.62% on hot-rolled stainless steel plates originating in China with a thickness of not less than 4.75 mm and a width of not less than 600 mm. The tax rate is 21.62%. The tax involves products under multiple tariff numbers in South Korea, but hot-rolled coils, black plates produced by specific processes, and some products with certain thickness and width specifications are not within the scope of taxation. The measures will take effect from the date of the announcement and will be valid until July 24, 2025. This move stems from the anti-dumping investigation launched by South Korea on September 6, 2024 on hot-rolled stainless steel plates originating from China. On January 16, 2025, the Korea Trade Commission made a positive preliminary ruling and recommended the imposition of a temporary anti-dumping duty. This policy change will undoubtedly have an impact on the trade pattern of hot-rolled stainless steel plates between China and South Korea. Relevant companies need to pay close attention and adjust their strategies in a timely manner.

2、 Review of other trade trends

In the past period of time, stainless steel trade policies have continued to adjust globally. For example, Turkey adjusted the import tariffs on stainless steel-related products in 2024, and the import tariffs on cold-rolled stainless steel coils increased from 8% to 12%. In June 2024, an anti-dumping investigation was also launched on cold-rolled stainless steel imported from China and Indonesia. In May 2024, the United States announced a substantial increase in tariffs on a series of Chinese imports, involving most stainless steel products, with the tax rate increased from 7.5% to 25%. These changes in trade policies reflect the fierce competition in the global stainless steel market, and also prompt companies to continuously seek new markets and cooperation opportunities and optimize the supply chain layout.

二、 Capacity expansion and enterprise layout

1、Yongjin shares increase overseas capacity

On the evening of March 21, 2025, Yongjin shares issued an announcement that it plans to jointly establish Jiada Turkey Metal Manufacturing and Trading Co., Ltd. with Lanhe Holdings Co., Ltd. and Hainan Fuxinhui Investment Co., Ltd., and use the joint venture as the main body to invest in the "400,000 tons of cold-rolled stainless steel strip project" in the Yalova Machinery Specialized Organization Industrial Zone in Turkey. The total investment of the project is about 1.868 billion yuan, and the construction period is 24 months. After completion, it will include a 320,000-ton 300 series 2B cold-rolled stainless steel strip production line and an 80,000-ton 300/400 series BA cold-rolled stainless steel strip production line. Yongjin shares' previous projects in Vietnam have achieved good economic benefits. This time, the site selection of Turkey for the construction of a new project is consistent with the company's main overseas market area, which will further expand the scale of overseas business, enhance the overall production capacity of the main stainless steel business, and will also have an impact on the supply pattern of the stainless steel market in Turkey and even Europe.

2、Industry Capacity Development Trend

Globally, stainless steel capacity shows a trend of dynamic change. According to the World Stainless Steel Association, the global stainless steel smelting workshop output increased by 6.3% year-on-year to 30.4 million tons in the first half of 2024. Due to factors such as market demand growth and policy support, some regions have seen significant capacity expansion; while some regions are adjusting their capacity structure due to market competition and environmental protection requirements. For example, driven by infrastructure construction and manufacturing development, India's demand for stainless steel continues to grow, and its domestic stainless steel production capacity is also gradually increasing. It is expected that by 2030, the demand for stainless steel will reach 6.5-6.7 million tons, which has attracted many companies to deploy in the Indian market.

三、Market supply and demand and price fluctuations

1、 Current supply and demand situation

On the supply side, in March 2025, steel mill production increased by nearly 11% month-on-month to 3.5 million tons, and the supply was relatively loose. From January to February, 43 steel companies produced 6.007 million tons of crude stainless steel, a year-on-year increase of 13.6%. The recovery of demand after the holiday was less than expected, downstream consumption was sluggish, and purchasing sentiment was general. Among the downstream industries, real estate and infrastructure performed poorly, but the automotive and home appliance sectors showed strong resilience. From January to February, my country's cumulative automobile sales reached 4.552 million units, a year-on-year increase of 13.2%, and the production and sales of new energy vehicles increased; the forward-looking data for March showed that the total production of air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines increased by 7.6% year-on-year. There are also differences in market supply and demand in different regions. In Europe, strikes and other factors have affected the supply of stainless steel, while the growth of demand in the Indian market has led to an increase in imports.

2、Factors of price fluctuations

The recent fluctuations in stainless steel prices are affected by a variety of factors. On the raw material side, the Indonesian government frequently adjusted its nickel industry policy, and the Philippines also issued relevant proposals, which led to the upward shift of the nickel price center of gravity. In March, the CIF price of Indonesian nickel ore rose, increasing the production cost of stainless steel. The macroeconomic environment, trade policies, and market expectations also play an important role in prices. For example, the decline of the US manufacturing industry has dragged down metal demand, and the sharp drop in nickel prices has hit the stainless steel market price. Recently, due to factors such as tight raw material supply, stainless steel prices have rebounded slightly in fluctuations. Market participants need to pay close attention to changes in these factors in order to better cope with the risks and opportunities brought about by price fluctuations.

四、Technological innovation and patent application

1、Patent technology highlights

On March 24, 2025, Zhejiang Fugang Group Co., Ltd. applied for a patent called "A duplex stainless steel containing rare earth elements and its preparation process". The duplex stainless steel is designed with specific ingredients, including controlling the content of elements such as C, Si, and Mn, and adding mixed rare earths, combined with unique preparation processes such as metal smelting, alloy refining, adding mixed rare earths in batches, pouring under argon protection, rolling and solution treatment, etc., which has the characteristics of improving the purity, corrosion resistance, hot processing performance and yield rate of duplex stainless steel. On the same day, Haipu Precision Materials (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. applied for a patent for "a method for depositing W/WCx composite coating on the surface of stainless steel and its products". By depositing a metal transition layer on the surface of the stainless steel substrate in sequence, performing diffusion heat treatment, depositing a pure tungsten layer and a W/WCx composite coating, the surface hardness of the stainless steel can be significantly improved. Its hardness value can reach more than 4 times the hardness of traditional stainless steel. The bonding force between the metal transition layer and the stainless steel substrate is greater than 120MPa, which can effectively prevent the cracking of the tungsten-containing coating and avoid the risk of coating peeling.

2、Technological innovation promotes industry development

The emergence of these patented technologies reflects the importance that companies in the industry attach to technological innovation. Technological innovation can not only improve the performance of stainless steel products and meet the higher requirements of stainless steel materials in different industries, but also enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in the market. For example, in the fields of aerospace, medical equipment, high-end manufacturing, etc., the corrosion resistance, strength, surface performance, etc. of stainless steel are extremely high. New stainless steel materials and surface treatment technologies developed through technological innovation can expand the application field of stainless steel and bring new growth points for the development of the industry.

In the complex and changing international market environment, the stainless steel material industry faces both challenges and opportunities. We will continue to pay attention to industry trends and bring you the latest and most valuable information to help you achieve greater success in the field of stainless steel.