India imposes anti-dumping duty on bottle grade PET from China as imports rise 67%

India has imposed anti-dumping duty on the import of bottle grade Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) resin originating in or exported from China for 5 years. Imports of bottle grade PET from China increased over 67 per cent, from 88,247 metric tonne in FY18 to 1,47,601 MT in FY19, while imports from other countries declined, as per govt data.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), under the Department Of Commerce, had recommended in December last year that anti-dumping duty ranging from $60.92 to $200.66 (depending on the material quality) be imposed on the import of bottle grade PET resin from China to offset the injury to the domestic industry from cheaper imports. The Ministry of Finance accepted and notified the same on Saturday.

The Finance Ministry, in its notification, said, "imposition of anti-dumping duty is required to offset the injury to the domestic industry caused by the dumped imports of subject goods from the subject country and has recommended imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of the subject goods, originating in or exported from the subject country and imported into India."

The PET resin, having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.72 decilitres per gram or higher (bottle-grade PET resin, excluding recycled PET resin), is used for manufacturing bottles and jars for storage of mineral water, carbonated soft drinks, pharmaceutical products.

It also observed that imports entered the market at a price significantly below the selling price of the domestic industry, thus undercutting the prices of the domestic industry in the market.

"It is seen that the market share of subject imports increased considerably over the injury period, while the market share of the petitioning domestic industry fell," added DGTR.

Reliance Industries and IVL Dhunseri Petrochem Industries - two largest producers of the product in India, accounting for over 90 per cent of the domestic production - had applied for the anti-dumping investigation before DGTR, which it initiated in October 2019, reports Mint. The domestic industry, in its submission to DGTR, said that the imports from China have increased dramatically during the investigation period.

"The subject imports are significantly undercutting the prices of the domestic industry. The market share of the domestic industry has fallen from 80 per cent to 64 per cent over the injury period. If dumping is not checked, the price of exports may fall further adversely affecting profitability of domestic industry," they said.

However, importers of the material said that there is no injury to the domestic industry as it is still profitable, and inventories reflect a decline in the injury period. The importers said, "The imports had no price effect on the domestic industry as the domestic prices increased by 26 per cent over the injury period while the import prices increased by 33 per cent and thus, analysis of price undercutting is meaningless."

Indian Plastics Federation (IPF), a user of the imported raw material, in its submission said that any anti-dumping duty on imports from China will affect the domestic processors adversely and, therefore, the proposed anti-dumping duty should not be imposed.  

IPF added, "Large discounts are offered to big companies. This is not available to small and medium units. This price disparity goes against small and medium industries. Hence small and medium industries prefer to import raw materials from China since their pricing policy and terms and conditions of payment are easier."

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