Korea steel plate producer hit with countervailing duties
The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued final countervailing duty (CVD) determinations against POSCO Co., Ltd., a major Korean producer of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate, for the 2023 review period (January 1 – December 31, 2023). Commerce found that POSCO received countervailable subsidies during this period. This adds to existing trade remedies on Korean steel plate imports and will affect landed costs for U.S. importers sourcing from this supplier.
Photo: Chris F / PexelsThe U.S. Department of Commerce announced final results of a countervailing duty administrative review on May 14, 2026, determining that POSCO Co., Ltd., South Korea's largest steelmaker, received countervailable subsidies while exporting carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate to the United States during 2023.
Commerce determines that POSCO Co., Ltd. (POSCO), a producer and exporter of certain carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate (CTL plate) from the Republic of Korea (Korea), received countervailable subsidies during the period of review (POR) from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023.
Carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate falls under HS Code 7208 and 7211 (flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, and flat-rolled products of alloy steel). These materials are widely used in automotive, machinery, construction, and heavy-equipment manufacturing. U.S. importers, particularly OEMs and metal service centers, rely on Korean suppliers for these intermediate inputs.
Countervailing duties offset government subsidies that artificially lower export prices. When Commerce finds a foreign exporter has benefited from countervailable support—such as grants, preferential loans, tax breaks, or other financial benefits tied to export performance—it imposes additional duties at the port of entry to level the playing field for domestic producers. These duties are stackable with existing antidumping duties and Section 301 tariffs, compounding the total landed cost.
The administrative review covers a 12-month period and is part of the ongoing trade remedy investigation into Korean steel CTL plate that has been in place for several years. Importers affected by these determinations must adjust their cost modeling and sourcing strategies accordingly. The CVD rates determined in this review will apply to entries of the subject merchandise from POSCO during the review period and inform cash-deposit rates for future shipments pending further administrative reviews.
What this means for shippers
Importers of Korean carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate must recalculate landed costs immediately using the final CVD rates from this review. If you source CTL plate from POSCO or other Korean producers, verify the applicable CVD rate with your freight forwarder or customs broker and re-baseline your landed-cost model. Failure to account for these duties may result in margin compression or customs penalties on historical entries. Use our tariff tool to confirm the current duty cascade on your specific HS codes and supplier combinations.
