China to Slap Anti-Dumping Duties on US Propanol Imports
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has announced that Beijing will impose temporary additional duties on the imports of n-Propanol (NPA) from the United States, accusing Washington of exporting them at dumping prices.
According to Xinhua, the domestic industry has suffered substantial damage due to the dumping of such products by the United States, the ministry said in a preliminary ruling based on an anti-dumping investigation that started in July last year.
From Saturday, importers of such products into China will be required to pay deposits at rates of between 254.4 percent and 267.4 percent at Chinese customs.
NPA, which is formed naturally in small amounts during many fermentation processes, is used as a solvent in the pharmaceutical industry, mainly for resins and cellulose esters.
The move will affect Dow Chemical Company and OXEA Corporation among other US firms. Neither of the companies has commented on the decision yet.
China’s Commerce Ministry launched an anti-dumping probe on imports of propanol from the US in July 2019, when trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies were raging. It planned to finish the investigation in one year, adding that the probe may take longer for some cases.
Washington and Beijing signed the first phase of their trade deal in the beginning of the year, canceling looming tariff hikes and lowering some earlier tariffs. However, there are concerns that the trade truce may not last as tensions between the two nations are rising again, this time over the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, the US has stepped up pressure against Chinese tech companies, such as Huawei, urging its allies to ban the company from their markets.
