Chinese paracetamol exporters may not be able to get rid of the Indian anti-dumping duties imposed on their products since 2001 even as the duties approach their expiry date.

The duties were first imposed in 2001 after an initial ruling and reinstated after a mandatory one-year period with a final ruling. Such duties automatically expire five years after the final ruling, after which they need to be imposed afresh if needed to be continued. By that count, the paracetamol duty is to run out this year.

India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry will not remove the anti-dumping duty, according to China Chamber of Commerce of Medicines and Health Products Importers and Exporters (CCCMHPIE).

The Indian government, in its "sunset review" of the duties, said Chinese exporters are still selling paracetamol in India at unfairly low prices, adversely affecting local pharmaceutical companies. It had asked all parties to respond to a questionnaire by July 12 as part of its review exercise.

No Chinese exporter has answered to the questionnaire, said Guan Ningyun, an official with CCCMHPIE.

In case no one contests the review, India can carry on the existing US$3.26/kilogram duty for another five years.

Chinese paracetamol are priced at lower than US$2.5 per kilogram, said an industry insider who declined to be named. "It doesn't affect all exporters and that's probably the reason Chinese businesses did not respond to the case."

Apart from India, South Africa, Indonesia and the European Union have also imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese paracetamol. It was only in Indonesia that Chinese enterprises fought back.

China exports some 40,000 tons of paracetamol a year, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the international market. It remains at the top of the list of countries subject to anti-dumping investigations and final rulings, the World Trade Organization has said.

(China Daily July 17, 2007)