TOKYO (Reuters) - The head of Japan's steel industry federation said on Tuesday that new import tariffs on steel imposed by the United States have not yet hit the Asian steel market, but said the industry is monitoring the situation closely for any future impact.
Japanese steelmakers are trying to seek item exemptions from the U.S. tariffs, Japan Iron and Steel Federation Chairman Kosei Shindo said at a news conference.
"We want the U.S. government to speed up its process as this will have an impact on the U.S. customers," said Shindo, also the president of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp (T:5401).
Shindo said only about 165 applications to seek item exemption out of nearly 4,000 applications have been approved so far.
Last month, the U.S. administration set duties of 25 percent on steel on grounds of national security, but provided a temporary exemption until May 1 for the European Union and some other countries.