India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry is considering imposing anti-dumping duties (ADDs) on imports of polystyrene (PS) from Iran, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, UAE and the US.
India's Directorate General of Trade Remedies on 12 June recommended that ADDs in a $35-474/t range be imposed on of all types of PS, except expandable polystyrene, from the six countries.
The call for an ADD investigation was initiated in July 2019 and was first initiated by Ineos Styrolution India, Vadodara and Supreme Petrochem, which produce almost 70pc of India's PS. The only PS producer not involved in this application was LG Polymers India (LGPI). ADDs are imposed to protect domestic producers from exporters that sell the products into the country at much lower prices than the domestic market.
Imports of PS from the six affected countries during the investigation period of January-December 2018 were found to have increased from 16,915t in 2015-16 to 30,037t in 2018, an increase of almost 78pc in less than three years. Imports of PS from countries not being investigated fell from 4,975t to 2,175t in the same period.
Importers of PS have requested Indian authorities not to impose ADDs because of tightening supplies and rising costs. PS producers In late March were forced to shut their plants suddenly when India implement strict Covid-19 lockdowns. A fatal incident at LGPI's plant occurred in early May during a restart, forcing it to shut.
Other PS producers in India have restarted their plants after India eased some lockdown measures and allowed transportation of goods. But operating rates are still low as demand continues to be dampened by the impact of the pandemic.
PS is mainly used for appliances such as refrigerators, air-conditioners, stationary, various household items, extruded insulation foam, electrical housing, toys and food packaging.
