China launches antidumping probe into US, EU caprolactam

26 April 2010 06:12  [Source: ICIS news]

By Judith Wang

SHANGHAI (ICIS news)--China launched a one-year antidumping investigation into imports of caprolactam from the EU and the US from 22 April, in response to complaints from domestic producers, a source from the country’s Ministry of Commerce said on Monday.

The move came a month after the government body received petitions from two subsidiaries of China’s petrochemical giant Sinopec, which were filed on behalf of the country's caprolactam producers, the source said.

The investigation could be extended by six months, the source added.

China has yet to announce the provisional tariff rates on caprolactam imports from the US and the EU.

Caprolactam is mainly used for producing polyamide-6, which in turn is used for manufacturing polyamide-6 fibre and nylon-6 engineering plastics.

The country imported 111,999 tonnes of caprolactam in the first two months of the year, representing 18.6% of the total 601,289 tonnes it took in for the whole of 2009, based on China Customs data.

In 2009, China’s caprolactam imports surged by 33.6% from 2008, official data showed.

China may not see a significant decline in its import demand for the material, notwithstanding the possible levying of an antidumping duty, said a trader, citing “a big shortage of domestic supply”.

“China’s demand is very strong. But it will be a bit difficult for import cargoes to come into the Chinese market [due to] higher cost,” he said.

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By: Judith Wang
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