South Korean steelmakers have been sued by their rivals in the United States on anti-dumping charges, a trade association here said Wednesday. AK Steel and four other major U.S. steelmakers filed anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions against South Korea and seven other countries, according to the Korea International Trade Association. 

The petitions, filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce, claim that the unfairly imported steel products are hurting their businesses, and that steelmakers from the eight countries have been receiving significant subsidies from their respective governments.

The petitions also called for anti-dumping duties ranging between 93.32 percent and 176.13 percent to be levied on the companies from the countries, KITA said.

Cold-rolled steel plates are used for automobiles and electric appliances.

POSCO and Hyundai Hysco are among some of the South Korean exporters of the cited steel goods. It has yet to be decided which of the firms here will be subject to an investigation.

The call for an investigation comes more than two years after the U.S. decided to end anti-dumping and countervailing tariffs on South Korean steelmakers. Washington had slapped anti-dumping duties of up to 4.8 percent on cold-rolled steel sheets and galvanized steel plates manufactured by South Korean steel producers from 1993-2003.

Last year, South Korea exported 258,000 tons of cold-rolled steel goods to the world's No. 1 economy, priced at $880,000 per ton. (Yonhap)