The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) said in a primary judgment it will levy anti-dumping tariffs of 11 to 49 percent on imports of esters of acrylic acid from these countries.

Under these restrictions importers are required to deposit cash sums with customs by way of guarantee before importing esters of acrylic acid from those countries. Interested parties can appeal to the MOFTEC or the State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC) within 20 days, said the MOFTEC in a notice.

Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Acrylic Acid Works, Beijing Eastern Chemical Works of Beijing Chemical Industry Group Co and Jilian (Jilin) Petrochemicals Ltd applied for an anti-dumping investigation on September 11, 2001 on behalf of China's acrylic acid industry. The three firms are the major producers of acrylic acid - used in paint, printing, paper making and other industrial uses.

As a result the MOFTEC and SETC launched an investigation on October 10 into dumping margins and possible damage caused to domestic industries.

China's use of acrylic acid increased rapidly year-on-year in 1999, 2000 and the first half of 2001, at 36.9 percent, 25.1 percent and 29.6 percent respectively, according to official statistics.

The South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia's exports of esters of acrylic acid soared 246.8 percent, 82.0 percent and 94.0 percent year-on-year in 1999, 2000 and the first half of 2001.

The four made up 29.8 percent of China's total imports of esters of acrylic acid in 1999, 43.5 percent in 2000 and 63.7 percent in the first half of 2001, customs statistics show.

Imports from the four occupied market shares of 15.0 percent, 21.8 percent and 31.9 percent in 1999, 2000 and the first half of 2001.

Meanwhile, prices of acrylic acid imports from the countries have been falling and as a result have kept domestic prices at a low level.

Huge imports from the four have slowed growth in domestic industries' production, production capacity and sales, driven down their market shares, prices, pre-tax profits, investment return rates and cash flow and pushed up unemployment and stockpiles, according to an investigation report of the SETC.

The SETC also noticed that the four have huge production and export capacities and are likely to continue to dump esters of acrylic acid in China.

The four supplied 12.1 percent of the world's acrylic acid in 2000. They exported a total of 204,300 tons of acrylic acid last year with 104,600 tons, or 51.2 percent of the total going to China.

The SETC said in its primary judgment that the flood of imports from the four has caused direct and substantial damage to domestic industries.

(China Daily December 6, 2002)