EU applies anti-dumping duties on RI fiber makers
EU applies anti-dumping duties on RI fiber makers
BRUSSELS (AFP): The European Commission is imposing
provisional anti-dumping duties on polyester staple fibers from
five Indonesian companies and other suppliers in Australia and
Taiwan, after investigating complaints from EU producers.
The anti-dumping duties are 13.6 percent on all Australian
companies; between 5.2 and 14.8 percent on five named Indonesian
companies, and 20.8 percent for the rest; and 15.5 and 35.3
percent on two named Thai companies and 36.6 on the rest, it
said.
The named Indonesian companies are Indorama Synthetics,
Panasia Indosyntec, Petrochem Industries, Susilia Indah Synthetic
Fiber Industries and Teijin Indonesia Fiber.
It is also imposing countervailing duties, to counter what are
considered to be unfair government subsidies, on imports of the
same fibers from Australia and Taiwan, while dropping anti-
subsidy probes into South Korea and Thai imports.
The sanctions were published in the European Union's Official
Journal, seen Monday.
"Under (EU regulations) no product shall be subject to both
anti-dumping and countervailing duties for the purposes of
dealing with one and the same situation arising from dumping and
from export subsidization," it said.
In the case of Australia the anti-dumping duties reflect the
dumping margin after the imposition of countervailing duties to
offset effect of export subsidies, the EU's executive branch
said.
In a statement, the International Rayon and Synthetic Fibers
Committee (CIRFS), which represents Europe's 12 billion euro
(dollar) manmade fiber industry, welcomed the levies.
"The confidence given by these commission decisions will
accelerate the program of modernization and development by
European producers," said CIRFS president Folkert Blaisse.
Polyester stable fiber imports from Australia, Indonesia,
Korea, Taiwan and Thailand doubled to a total 46,677 metric tons
in the year to March 31, 1999, the period under investigation,
from 20,275 in 1996, the commission said.
The named Thai companies were Indo Ply (Thailand) and Tuntext
(Thailand).
The EU producers concerned are Dupont De Nemours and Trevmira,
in Germany; Wellman International, in Ireland; in Spain, Catalana
de Polimers; and in Italy, Montifibre.
The commission said the EU industry had been suffering for
"almost a decade" from low-priced imports of polyester staple
fibers and the measures will "re-establish fair competition."
Without the anti-dumping duties the situation of the EU
industry would probably deteriorate, leading to a further
reduction in the number of those employed and possibly a cut in
the number of EU producers, it said.