The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) of Malaysia announced in an official release on August 6 that Malaysia has initiated an anti-dumping duty investigation into imported aluminum-zinc coated flat rolled alloy and non-alloy steel originating from or exported by Chinese mainland, China's Taiwan and Vietnam.

The MITI also noted that the Malaysian domestic manufacturer NS Bluescope Malaysia Sdn Bhd filed an application for anti-dumping investigation on June 19.

The applicant alleged that the subject merchandise exported from the aforementioned regions was sold in Malaysia at prices far lower than their domestic market prices in origin areas, constituting dumping behavior.

The petitioner also claimed that the volume of dumped imports has expanded continuously, which has caused material injury to Malaysia's domestic steel industry.

"The government has assessed and considered the information and evidence of dumping, injury and causal link set out in the Petition and decided to initiate an anti-dumping duty investigation on imports of the subject merchandise pursuant to Section 20 of the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Act 1993 (Act 504) and Regulation 7 of the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Regulations 1994," MITI stated.

According to the provisions of Act 504 and supporting regulations, authorities will issue a preliminary determination within 120 days from the investigation initiation date.

If the preliminary ruling confirms dumping injury, Malaysia will impose provisional anti-dumping duties at a proper rate to curb further damage to domestic industry.

Meanwhile, MITI has initiated an expiry review (sunset review) on existing anti-dumping duties applicable to prepainted color-coated steel coils imported from China and Vietnam.

The ministry will release the final ruling for this sunset review within 180 days upon initiation. The investigation period for injury assessment is set as January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025.