Hyundai Electric to appeal U.S. anti-dumping duty on power transformers

2018.03.13 15:50:17

[Photo provided by Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co.]À̹ÌÁö È®´ë

[Photo provided by Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co.]

South Korea¡¯s Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co. plans to appeal the U.S. commerce department¡¯s decision to slap a 60.81 percent anti-dumping duty on its power transformers.

The company said on Tuesday that the U.S. commerce department has decided to levy an anti-dumping duty of 60.81 percent, equivalent to 52.9 billion won ($49.6 million), on the company¡¯s large power transformers shipped to the U.S. from August 2015 to July 2016.

Hyundai Electric said President Trump¡¯s recent protectionist stance appears to have influenced the decision, citing the commerce department¡¯s application of the Adverse Facts Available (AFA) provision, which allows Washington to levy extremely high anti-dumping duties if the accused party fails to submit the requested data. The company argued it was not given a fair chance to explain its position.

Hyundai Electric said it would appeal the case to the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT), whose final ruling would take about two years to come out. ¡°We would not be required to pay the duties until the (CIT) ruling so there is no immediate impact on our balance sheet,¡± a company official said.

The firm can take the case to the federal appeals court if it seeks to challenge the CIT ruling.

Following the latest decision, Hyundai Electric has become another Korean company targeted by the U.S. protectionist move. The Trump administration in January decided to impose excessive tariffs on large residential washing machines and solar cells and modules shipped from Korea. This month, it announced its plan to impose a sweeping 25 percent tariff on all steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports, citing national security concerns. Korean steel makers are major steel exporters to the U.S.

Hyundai Electric was spun off from the Hyundai Heavy Industries Group in April 2016 as part of the conglomerate¡¯s plans to reorganize into a holding company.

Shares of Hyundai Electric closed Tuesday up 0.91 percent at 88,400 won.

By Woo Je-yoon and Kim Hyo-jin

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