Japan protests

摘要

Prior to the imposition of China's safeguard measures there were reports that the Japanese were restraining sales efforts in China for fear of provoking anti-dumping investigations. Whatever Japanese intentions, shipments this year have been far ahead of last year's levels. Trade figures from the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) for the first four months of this year show that its members exported more than 1.3m tonnes of ordinary steel products to China, 45.6 percent more than during the same period last year. Among semi-manufactures, they shipped almost 300,000 tonnes of slab, three times more than in 2001. The Chinese government may make some concessions, but the aim will certainly be to hold Japanese exports below this level.