Antidumping duties imposed on carbon black imports

JAKARTA (JP): The government has imposed antidumping duties on carbon black imported from India, Thailand and South Korea to protect local producers.

The Ministry of Finance said on Friday that under the antidumping ruling, imports of carbon black from India would be subjected to a surcharge of 52.48 percent, those from Thailand 24.33 percent and from South Korea 53.72 percent.

"The antidumping duty is not aimed at rescuing the local industry from the influx of cheap carbon black from other countries," the ministry's spokesman Hadiyanto said in a statement.

The countervailing duties, issued on the recommendation of the Indonesian AntiDumping Committee (KADI), will continue until prices of carbon black from the three countries are raised to that of the local market prices, he added.

The evidence of dumping was discovered by KADI in the middle of 1998 after local producers complained about the influx of cheap imported carbon black

Hadiyanto said other foreign carbon black producers have also reported to the government on the dumping activities of the three countries.

Carbon black, one of the most important components in the manufacture of rubber products, including tires, is a fine black powder that functions as a pigment and reinforcement.

According to KADI, India, Thailand and South Korea, between 1998 and 1999, sold carbon black locally at prices ranging from U.S.$350 to $390 per metric ton, compared to between $440 and $605 per ton in their respective domestic markets.

As a result of the practice, during that period, the local market price for carbon black was among the lowest in the world.

According to KADI, the antidumping duties will not affect its users, such as the tire manufacturers, much because, for example, in tire production, carbon black represents only 5 percent to 8 percent of the overall cost compared to polymers (29 percent), chemicals(18 percent) and textile (18 percent).

PT Cabot Indonesia, one of the country's major carbon black producers, hailed the government's antidumping move, saying dumping practices can result in the closure of local carbon black producers. (05)