The U.S. Department of Commerce has decided to impose duties of more than 400 percent on certain types of steel produced in South Korea or Taiwan that are then shipped to Vietnam for minor processing and finally exported to the U.S.

The department recently said it had found corrosion-resistant steel products and cold-rolled steel produced in Vietnam using substrate of South Korean or Taiwanese origin had circumvented U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties.

The department said the inquiry was initiated at the request of six U.S. steelmakers, including Nucor and United States Steel.

In June of 2018, the U.S. firms filed a complaint with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission claiming that South Korean steelmakers are exporting their steel via Vietnam to circumvent duties.  

The South Korean government and the domestic steel industry expect the U.S. department's recent decision will have little impact on local steelmakers.