The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has reached a negative injury determination in the anti-dumping investigations on imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin from Brazil, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, and Taiwan.
Four major US PET resin producers – DAK Americas, Indorama Ventures USA, Nan Ya Plastics Corporation America, and M&G Polymers USA – filed petitions with the ITC and the US Department of Commerce in September last year. In October 2017, M&G Polymers filed for bankruptcy and later put its US assets up for sale.
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One year later, the Department of Commerce found significant levels of dumping by producers and exporters in all five countries.
PET, popularly also called resin, is used in the production of textiles and disposable bottles.
On 18 October, the ITC reached a negative injury determination in the anti-dumping investigations on imports of PET resin from Brazil, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, and Taiwan.
DAK Americas, Indorama Ventures USA, and Nan Ya Plastics Corporation America expressed strong disappointment in the determination.
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By GlobalData“The ITC’s vote does not reflect the experience of the US PET resin industry over the past three years,” said Paul Rosenthal of Kelley Drye & Warren, counsel to the domestic producers.
“On the contrary, the record in this case showed that US producers suffered declining production, sales, and profitability as a result of surging imports from Brazil, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, and Taiwan. In fact, the Commerce Department found significant dumping margins by PET resin producers in each country. That dumping hurt the sales and profits of the domestic industry, contributing to one US producer going out of business last year.
“The domestic industry is also under threat of continued injury due to the significant idle capacity and export-orientation of the foreign PET resin producers.”
Once the ITC’s final determination is published in the Federal Register and the ITC issues its written opinion, the domestic producers will make a final decision whether to appeal the ITC’s determination with the US Court of International Trade in New York.
A successful appeal by the domestic industry would send the injury determination back to the ITC for re-examination and re-issuance, and could ultimately result in an affirmative determination.
As the US Department of Commerce issued final affirmative dumping margins for each country, a revised affirmative injury determination by the ITC would impose cash deposit requirements on US importers of PET resin from Brazil, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, and Taiwan.
