WASHINGTON – Polyester producers from China, India, Korea and Taiwan have been accused of ‘dumping’ polyester fibre on the US market, potentially damaging the domestic industry. The US Department of Commerce has now instructed US Customs to slap tariffs on imports of fine denier polyester staple fibre from all four countries, in a case which has been ongoing for the past year. Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in another country for what is deemed to be less than its fair value.
The US determined that exporters from China, India, Korea, and Taiwan sold fine denier polyester staple fibre in the United States at less than fair value, with dumping margins determined as being 65-103 per cent for China, 21 per cent for India, 0-45 per cent for Korea and 0-48 per cent for Taiwan.
In 2017, imports of fine denier polyester staple fibre from China, India, Korea, and Taiwan were valued at an estimated US$61.4 million, US$23.7 million, US$11.9 million, and US$7.4 million, respectively.
The petition was filed by DAK Americas LLC (NC), Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, America (SC), and Auriga Polymers Inc. (NC).
The aggressive enforcement of US trade law has been a notable characteristic of the Trump Administration which is focused on providing opportunities for the growth of the domestic manufacturing sector, including textiles. Commerce has initiated 114 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations since the beginning of the Trump Administration, 78 per cent more than the 64 initiations in the last 489 days of the previous administration.
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) is now conducting investigations to determine whether or not the domestic industry is harmed by imports of fine denier polyester staple fibre from China, India, Korea, and Taiwan. The ITC is currently scheduled to make its final injury determinations on or before July 9, 2018.
