US issues anti-dumping tariff ruling on S. Korean chemical materials

Seoul, Jan 2 (IANS) The US Department of Commerce has reached a preliminary decision to impose up to 65.72 per cent anti-dumping tariffs on certain chemical materials from South Korea, Seoul’s industry ministry said on Friday.

The Department announced its preliminary affirmative determination to impose anti-dumping duties between 10.94 per cent and 65.72 per cent on two Korean companies exporting monomers and oligomers to the United States, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, reports Yonhap news agency.

The decision came about six months after Washington initiated a dumping investigation into certain monomers and oligomers from Korea and Taiwan at the request of a U.S. chemical producer.

The preliminary margins represent a significant reduction compared with the 137 percent to 188 percent dumping margins originally alleged by the petitioner, according to the ministry.

The ministry said it will closely communicate with the companies to ensure they do not face unfair treatment in the U.S. department’s final ruling in May.

Last month, South Korea’s trade watchdog made a preliminary decision to impose anti-dumping tariffs on PVC paste resin imports from Germany, France, Norway and Sweden after its initial investigation identified potential damage to the domestic industry.

Under the decision, the Korea Trade Commission (KTC) will ask the Ministry of Economy and Finance to impose an anti-dumping tariff of between 25.79 and 42.81 percent on such products imported from the four countries, according to its officials.

PVC paste resin refers to durable plastic material made of very fine powder and used in many everyday products, such as wallpaper, sofas, shoes and gloves.

Separately, the commission also began probing allegations that three Chinese companies sold cold-rolled products of carbon steel or alloy steel below fair market value, said the report.

—IANS

na/