US to slap duties on PET resin from India, 3 others

02 Apr '16

3 min read

Indian exporters of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin to the US will now have to pay anti-dumping and countervailing duties after the US International Trade Commission (USITC) determined that a US industry is materially injured by the import of PET resin from Canada, China, India, and Oman. The USITC's decision came after the US Department of Commerce concluded are sold in the US at less than fair value and subsidized by the governments of China and India.

In a press release, the USITC said it also made negative findings with respect to critical circumstances with regard to imports of this product from India. As a result, goods that entered the US from India in the 90 days prior to August 15, 2015, will not be subject to retroactive countervailing duties, and goods that entered the US from India in the 90 days prior to October 15, 2015, will not be subject to retroactive antidumping duties (dates are the dates of the Department of Commerce's affirmative preliminary determinations).

All six Commissioners made affirmative material injury determinations and negative critical circumstances findings.

The Commerce Department will issue countervailing duty orders on imports of this product from China and India and antidumping duty orders on imports of this product from Canada, China, India, and Oman.

The anti-dumping duty on Indian PET will be between 8.03 per cent and 19.41 per cent, while the duty on PET from Oman will be 7.82 per cent. Canadian PET will pay a 13.6 per cent anti-dumping duty, while Chinese PET will be charged a duty of between 104.98 per cent and 126.58 per cent.

The US Commerce Department also will place countervailing duties of 6.83-47.56 per cent on Chinese PET and of 5.12-153.8 per cent on Indian PET. The department earlier had ruled that PET makers in Oman had not received countervailable subsidies.

PET resin is commonly used in the manufacture of carbonated soft drink, juice and water bottles, in food containers and as packaging for household, cosmetic, automotive and pharmaceutical products.

The USITC's investigation followed a petition filed on March 10, 2015 by DAK Americas LLC, M&G Chemicals and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. America charging that unfairly traded imports of PET resin from Canada, China, India and Oman were causing material injury to the domestic industry. Imports from the four target countries surged into the US market in recent years, displacing US producers' sales and market share. The domestic industry stated that this import surge was driven by low import pricing that caused US producers to suffer from reduced prices and profits.

"We have maintained throughout this case that the skyrocketing volume of imports of PET resin from Canada, China, India and Oman has injured the domestic industry with aggressive, dumped and subsidized prices. The domestic industry is extremely pleased that the Commission agreed and that these importers will now be subject to the discipline of trade orders to offset these practices," commented Paul Rosenthal of Kelley Drye, the lead trade counsel of the petitioners. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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