Eight Of Malaysia’s Nine Anti-dumping Measures Cover Iron, Steel Products - MITI

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- The iron and steel sector is among those frequently facing pressure from dumped imports of intermediate goods, with eight of Malaysia’s nine existing anti-dumping measures covering products in the sector.

The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) said the measures covered products such as steel wire and galvanised iron or steel sheets, while the remaining measure involved plastic and resin products.

“These products are generally intermediate inputs in the production chain rather than finished products or cheap consumer goods sold directly to consumers.

“To protect domestic industries from unfair trade practices, the government continuously monitors import dumping trends and prices,” the ministry said.

MITI said trade remedies, including anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties or safeguard measures, could be imposed if investigations established that injury had occurred or that there had been an import surge, in accordance with domestic legal criteria and World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.

“In addition, the government has improved the legal framework through the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Act 2025 [Act 504], while reviewing the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Regulations 1994 to ensure that trade remedy instruments remain relevant and effective,” it said.

Since Malaysia joined the WTO in 1995, the government has imposed 77 anti-dumping measures and three safeguard measures, while initiating 38 anti-dumping investigations over the past 10 years, MITI said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s total imports rose 22.4 per cent to RM1.158 trillion from January to August 2026. Imports from China amounted to RM308.12 billion, accounting for 21.1 per cent of total imports and representing a 41.2 per cent increase from the same period last year.

MITI said the increase was driven mainly by intermediate and capital goods to support production activities and investment, which rose 15.6 per cent, compared with a 3.7 per cent increase in consumer goods.

The ministry said the statistics warranted further assessment to determine whether the increase in imports involved unfair trade practices that harmed domestic producers of like products.

MITI was responding to a question from Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman (PN-Bachok) on the assessment of the impact of trade diversion and dumped imports following higher global tariffs, including sectors experiencing an increase in cheap imports and measures to protect domestic industries.

-- BERNAMA