Yonap reported that South Korea won a case at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the United States over the country slapping anti-dumping duties on steel pipes, nearly three years after lodging the complaint. In July 2014, the US Commerce Department had levied 9.9 to 15.8% anti-dumping duties on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) imports from Hyundai Steel, Nexteel, Seah Steel Corp and Husteel.

Five months later, South Korea submitted an appeal with the WTO against the tariff, arguing that the US calculation of margins for Korean products was not reasonable when compared to the rate of global profit margins.

The WTO dispute settlement panel sided with Seoul's claim that the US incorrectly applied the term same general category of products in determining for OCTG products and didn't use the actual profit data.

Seoul's trade ministry said in a release "If the panel ruling is confirmed and the U.S. complies with it, anti-dumping measures on Korean OCTG will be lifted. It would enhance the business environment for Korean companies in the US market."

The ruling will be confirmed if the two sides don't appeal within 60 days.

South Korea exported USD 818 million worth of OCTG to the world's largest economy in 2013, but the amount shrank to USD 262 million in 2015 and USD 271 million in 2016