South Korea takes a closer look at Taiwanese steel imports. South Korea takes a closer look at Taiwanese steel imports. (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (CNA) - The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) has launched an investigation into exporters of certain steel products from Taiwan and Italy to determine whether they have sold their products in Korea at unfairly low prices.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Saturday that the KTC's investigation of stainless steel bar exporters from Taiwan and Italy that opened on May 18 will look for dumping practices during the period of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017.

The determination will be made based on pricing data and South Korean firms' operations from Jan. 1, 2014 through Dec. 31, 2017 and decide whether Korean companies have suffered material injury from the alleged unfair trade practices, the MOEA said.

It did not disclose which Taiwanese companies have been named by the KTC as mandatory respondents.

The MOEA said stainless steel bars are used in a wide range of products, such as sophisticated precision equipment, auto parts, machinery, aircraft components, medical equipment and building materials.

Citing data compiled by the Global Trade Atlas, the MOEA said Taiwan sold US$25.95 million worth of stainless steel bars to South Korea in 2017, which accounted for a 17.97 percent share of Seoul's total imports.

Taiwan was the second largest stainless steel supplier to South Korea, trailing only Japan, which took a 24.32 share of the Korean import market with sales of US$35.12 million, the data showed.

But Taiwan's sales outpaced those of India, Italy and Germany, which had 17.48 percent, 14.72 percent, and 8.83 percent shares, respectively, according to the figures.

The MOEA said that if South Korea finds that Taiwanese suppliers were involved in dumping stainless steel bars, they will face punitive tariffs, which would affect their sales and market share in the South Korean market.

The MOEA said it has informed related industrial associations of the investigation launched by the KTC, and urged Taiwanese firms to respond to the commission's questions during its investigation without delay to make their case. (By Tsai Yi-chu and Frances Huang)