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.