Japan has announced a provisional anti-dumping duty on Chinese and Taiwanese nickel stainless steel.

The Japanese decision of 3 July 2026

Japan's Ministry of Finance states, in a provisional translation dated 3 July 2026, that the Cabinet adopted on the same day a decree concerning a provisional anti-dumping duty . The text covers coils, sheets and strips of cold-rolled stainless steel containing nickel, originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu .

The ministry presents the measure as a Cabinet decree intended to establish a provisional anti-dumping duty on those goods . It announces publication of the decree on 8 July 2026 .

The material and geographical scope.

Japan's Ministry of Finance presents the material scope as covering coils, sheets and strips of cold-rolled stainless steel alloyed with nickel . The announcement defines the product as alloy steel containing at least 10.5% chromium and more than 0.6% nickel by weight . The ministry states that the measure concerns goods originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu .

The ministerial note specifies that the China covered by the announcement excludes the Hong Kong and Macao regions . It sets out the geographical scope in the title of the decision and in the description of the Cabinet decree . The document published by the ministry does not mention a tariff code in the available extract .

The provisional period and the announced rates.

In its announcement dated 3 July 2026, Japan's Ministry of Finance presents the measure as a decision to impose a provisional anti-dumping duty on coils, sheets and strips of cold-rolled stainless steel containing nickel, originating in or exported from China and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu . The text states that the Cabinet decree will be published on 8 July 2026 .

The ministry specifies that the provisional anti-dumping duty applies to the goods concerned during the period from 9 July 2026 to 8 November 2026 . In the "Background" section, the announcement states that the Council on Customs, Tariff, Foreign Exchange and Other Transactions considered the imposition of a provisional duty appropriate, with a range of rates from 3.6% to 42.1% . The ministerial announcement does not set out, in the published extract, a breakdown of the rates by producer or exporter .

The prior investigation cited by the ministry.

The announcement by Japan's Ministry of Finance links the Cabinet decree to an investigation conducted by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry since 22 July 2025 into cold-rolled nickel stainless steel coils, sheets and strips originating in China and Taiwan .

According to the announcement, the two ministries issued a preliminary determination in the anti-dumping investigation, with a presumption of dumped imports and material injury caused to the domestic industry by those imports . The text refers to Ministry of Finance Notice No 177 of 19 June 2026 .

The ministry states that the Council on Customs, Tariff, Foreign Exchange and Other Transactions issued an opinion on 23 June 2026 finding it appropriate to impose a provisional anti-dumping duty on the same products originating in or exported from China and Taiwan . The announcement mentions a range of rates between 3.6% and 42.1% .

A separate WTO case on stainless flat products.

WTO dispute DS616 concerns the European Union's countervailing and anti-dumping duties on cold-rolled stainless steel flat products from Indonesia . The WTO page presents the case as a complaint by Indonesia against the European Union, with Japan among the members that have reserved their third-party rights .

Document WT/DS616/R shows the panel report reference and the date "2 October 2025" . The DS616 page does not mention any Japanese decree; it links the dispute to the countervailing and anti-dumping measures imposed by the European Union . The WTO states that its summary status is prepared by the Secretariat under its own responsibility for general information purposes .