China extends dichloromethane antidumping duties

17 August 2006 09:23  [Source: ICIS news]

(Updates with details, comment from Akzo Nobel Base Chemicals in last paragraph.)

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--China’s Ministry of Commerce has extended indefinitely antidumping duties on dichloromethane imports from the UK, the US, Holland, Germany and South Korea, pending the results of an investigation, the ministry said on Tuesday.

Duties ranging from 4% to 66% were to expire on 16 August, after being in place for five years. However, the ministry received a petition from a group of local producers led by Sichuan Honghe Fine Chemical and Zhejiang Quhua Fluorine Chemical to extend the duties, it said.

It launched another round of investigations on Tuesday, it added. Duties will still be in place during the investigation period, which could take a year to 18 months, a Ministry of Commerce official said.

ICIS news reported at the time the duties were imposed that Dutch major Akzo Nobel Base Chemicals was paying a 9% duty while the duty for other Dutch companies was at 57%. Levies for Vulcan Materials and BP Chemical Trading in the US were at 53% and 49% respectively, while imports from other American companies were taxed at 58%.

South Korea’s Samsung Fine Chemicals was paying a 4% duty while other Korean exporters were paying a 28% duty.

A 6% levy was imposed on Ineos Chlor in the UK and other UK companies were paying a 39% tax. All German imports were taxed at 66%.

An Akzo Nobel Base Chemicals spokesman said on Thursday that the company will not be affected as it had ceased dichloromethane production in December 2003.

By: Florence Tan
+65 6780 4359

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