The Hindu Business Line : Dumping duty on PVC paste resin recommended

THE Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry has recommended the imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imported PVC Paste Resin from the European Union, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.

As the injury margin capable of inflicting injury to domestic manufacturers in the case of Saudi Arabia and South Korea was found negative, no anti-dumping duty is proposed on the imports from these two countries.

"Poly vinyl chloride paste resin," is also referred to as Emulsion PVC Resin. Common applications of PVC Paste Resin are artificial leather (Rexene), coated fabrics, tarpaulins, conveyer beltings, toys, automotive sealant, adhesives etc. It is processed at the consumer end, by mixing liquid plasticizers like DOP to form free flowing mixtures and these mixtures or pastes are formed to suitable shapes or coated on sub-straits like textiles.

After a detailed probe based on the written petition from Chemplast Sanmar Ltd, Chennai, alleging dumping of PVC Paste Resin originating in or exported from the European Union, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, the Authority has found merit in recommending imposition of anti-dumping duty on the subject good from the EU only.

However, it said, in view of the wide fluctuations in the prices of PVC Paste Resin in the international markets, the Authority has deemed it fit to propose the anti-dumping duty on a reference price basis. The anti-dumping duty recommended is the difference between $950.94 per tonne and the landed value of imports per tonne.

In its observations, the Authority held that imports from the European Union are undercutting the selling prices of the domestic industry with the petitioner suffering from underselling from imports from the EU also as the landed price of subject goods are below the non-injurious price or fair selling price of the domestic industry.

Significant deterioration in profits (from high profits to financial losses), cash profits (decline of 95 per cent), return on capital employed (from 100 to 5 on the index basis), selling prices (from 1.4 per cent of sales to 6.02 per cent of sales), decline in capacity utilisation all demonstrate that the domestic industry has suffered material injury during the period of investigation.

It further stated that between 2000-01 and the period of probe, dumped imports from the subject countries rose markedly in volume by 22 per cent and in market share by 76 per cent (from 8.8 per cent in 2000-01 to 15.8 per cent in the period of investigation).