UPDATE: China To Slap Anti-Dumping Steps On US Nylon Imports
October 20 2009 - 1:49AM
Dow Jones News
China has made a preliminary decision to slap anti-dumping
duties on low-priced nylon imports from the U.S., the EU, Russia
and Taiwan, hitting the U.S., the country's second-largest trading
partner, with the highest duties of as much as 36.2%.
The imports have damaged the domestic industry, the Ministry of
Commerce said in a statement. The tariffs will affect firms
including BASF Corp., under German chemical giant BASF SE (BASFY),
and Honeywell Resins & Chemical LLC, of Honeywell International
Inc. (HON), it said.
The move is the latest in a series of Sino-U.S. trade spats in
recent months, amid rising protectionism as economies begin to
recover from the global financial crisis. It comes a week before
senior leaders of China and the U.S. meet at the Joint Commission
of Commerce and Trade, or JCCT, next week in Hangzhou, China.
The nylon anti-dumping ruling is preliminary. Duties on products
of companies named in the decision from the EU, Russia and Taiwan
will be between 9.7% and 4%. The levy will be 23.9% for all
companies in those markets that weren't named in the decision, the
ministry said.
The ministry will levy a 30.4% tariff on products of BASF Corp.,
and 36.2% on those of Honeywell Resins & Chemical and other
companies in the U.S.
Specifically, the ruling affects imports of Nylon 6, or
polycaprolactam, which is used to manufacture a variety of
products, ranging from toothbrushes to gun frames to chiffon.
Low-priced nylon imports have harmed six industries in China,
the ministry said in its statement, as volumes of imports have
increased while prices have gone down.
Starting Tuesday, China will require importers to pay deposits
on Nylon-6 imports from foreign companies judged to be selling the
material in China for less than a fair price.
China formally started investigating the Nylon 6 imports in late
April. The ruling on nylon imports is the latest development in an
apparent trade scuffle that began in September when the Obama
administration decided to impose 35% import duties on Chinese
tires. China issued a statement within days, singling out U.S.
automotive and poultry product imports for investigation.
-By Patricia Jiayi Ho and Victoria Ruan, Dow Jones Newswires;
(8610) 6588 5848; patricia.ho@dowjones.com