March 11/2005
Japan Fair Trade Commission
The Fair Trade Commission of Japan (JFTC), on 11 March 2005, ordered 6 manufacturers to pay surcharges regarding fixing the prices of cold-rolled stainless steel sheets and steel strips (excluding cold-rolled narrow strips)(See Note), based on Section 48-2 (1) of the Antimonopoly Act.
1. Violations related to the surcharge
(Recommendation: 2 December 2003, Decision: 27 January 2004)
The 6 companies mentioned in Item 2 below had agreed on mark-ups of selling price of cold-rolled stainless steel sheets to distributors or users (except for ones for car manufacturers and large-scaled electronic manufacturers) and thus had been substantially restricting the competition in the trading field of cold-rolled stainless steel sheets and steel strips in Japan (violation of Article 3 of the Antimonopoly Act).
2. Total amount of Surcharges
| Violator | Address of headquarter | Surcharge (JPY) |
|---|---|---|
| Nissin Steel Co., Ltd. | 3-4-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo | 1,607.52 Million |
| Nippon Steel Corporation | 2-6-3 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo | 1,284.69 Million |
| Nippon Yakin Kogyo Co., Ltd. | 1-5-8 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo | 1,107.59 Million |
| Nippon Metal Industry Co., Ltd. | Shinjuku Mitsui Building 2-1-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo |
1,035.43 Million |
| Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. | 4-5-33 Kitahama, Chuo-ku, Osaka | 977.16 Million |
| JFE Steel Corporation | 2-2-3 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo | 764.33 Million |
| Total | 6,776.72 Million | |
3. Deadline for payment
9 May, 2005
(Note)Cold-rolled stainless steel sheets and steel strips are corrosion- and heat-resistant alloys consisted mainly of iron and chrome. There are two types of such steels and strips: one is mainly made of iron, chrome and nickel. The other is mainly made of iron and chrome.
*Every announcement is tentative translation. Please refer to the original text written in Japanese.
