WASHINGTON – The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has announced it will begin preliminary investigations into whether polyester yarn imports from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are being sold at less than fair value in the US. A petition was filed with the ITC on 28 October by Nan Ya Plastics Corp and Unifi Manufacturing claiming the imports from the Asian states are being dumped on the US market.
The alleged average dumping margins are 15.51 per cent for Indonesia, 75.13 per cent for Malaysia, 56.80 per cent for Thailand, and 42.29 per cent for Vietnam.
The petitions follow previously successful moves by the US polyester industry to request protection against dumping. Domestic producers have met with a particularly receptive government since President Trump came to power and signalled a shift towards greater protectionism for domestic markets.
The product covered by the latest petitions, polyester textured yarn, is synthetic multifilament yarn that is manufactured from polyester (polyethylene terephthalate).
Polyester textured yarn is produced through a texturing process, which imparts special properties to the filaments of the yarn, including stretch, bulk, strength, moisture absorption, insulation, and the appearance of a natural fibre.
At the start of 2018, the Department of Commerce took the decision to apply tariffs to fine denier polyester staple fibre imports from China, India, Korea and Taiwan, again after complaints of dumping.