China has decided to take anti-dumping action against Russian,
South Korean and Japanese styrene butadiene rubber producers, the
Ministry of Commerce said in a final verdict yesterday.
The ministry said, beginning immediately, importers of such
rubber from the three nations must pay anti-dumping duties to
Chinese customs agents, according to established dumping
margins.
The dumping margins reach levels as high as 38 per cent.
China initiated an anti-dumping investigation with regard to
styrene butadiene rubber, a chemical raw material for tyres and
other rubber products, on March 19, 2002.
Four major domestic producers - Qilu Petrochemical Co Ltd,
Shenhua Chemical Industrial, Jilin Chemical Industry Co Ltd and
PetroChina Lanzhou Co - filed application seeking the
investigation.
Based on the Chinese anti-dumping regulations, the ministry
determined dumping had taken place and the imports did cause
substantial damage to China's domestic rubber industry.
In fact, the local market for such products was on the rise
during 2000 and 2001, increasing by 10.13 per cent and 21.38 per
cent respectively.
But because of the impact from the low-priced imports, the
domestic industry was unable to develop during those years,
investigators found, and actually suffered a profit decline.
Pre-tax profits dropped by an averaged 256.8 per cent during
1999-2001, investigators learned.
According to official statistics, China initiated 10 such
investigations last year. Annual sales of involved products stood
at 59.2 billion yuan (US$7.15 billion).
(China Daily September 10, 2003)