The Hindu Business Line : Dumping duty on sodium cyanide to continue for US, South Korea; EU spared

THE Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry has recommended continuation of definitive anti-dumping duty on sodium cyanide from South Korea and the US, while dropping the existing anti-dumping duty on exports from the European Union (EU), after a sunset review.

Sodium cyanide is a pure basic inorganic chemical and is manufactured by reacting hydro cyanic acid (HCN) with caustic soda. It is mainly used by industries such as dye intermediates, electro-plating chemicals and for manufacture of heat treatment salt, gold extractions.

In its gazetted notification, the Authority held that the subject goods continue to be dumped from the US and South Korea and dumping margins of the subject goods from these countries are significant and above de minims. There is no likelihood of dumping to continue or to recur from the EU, if the duties are revoked. But dumping is likely to continue from the US and South Korea.

Considering the current level of dumping from the US and South Korea, the Authority favours imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty equal to the margin of dumping or margin of injury whichever is lesser, so as to remove the injury to the domestic industry.

Given the fact that the prices of raw materials and the finished products have significantly changed, the Authority deems it necessary to impose duty on fixed duty basis. Hence in the case of South Korean producer Tong Shuh Petrochemicals Corporation and the exporter Hanwah Corporation, the recommended anti-dumping duty is $29.62 per tonne, while any other exporter/manufacturer of South Korea, the anti-dumping duty is $250.88 per tonne.

In the case of firms exporting sodium cyanide from the US, the recommended anti-dumping duty is $268.27 per tonne.

In recommending continuation of definitive anti-dumping duty against exporters from the US, the Authority said though there was no direct export of the subject goods from the US, a significant quantity of goods manufactured in the US has been exported through Chinese Taipei at dumped prices. The landed value of the goods exported from the US to India through the third country has been found to have significant price undercutting and underselling effect on the domestic prices. The data on US production capacity and volume of trade of the product indicates that there is a pronounced capacity available in that country to enable the exporters to dump the goods in India once the duty is revoked. Hence the Authority is of the view that dumping would recur from the US if the duty is revoked and the domestic industry would suffer material injury on account of such imports.

As far as the 25-member EU goes, the Authority notes that the volume of imports from the EU has remained low during the injury period and the average landed value of imports during the said period is much above the domestic selling prices o the domestic industry, as well as the reference price fixed by the Authority in the original investigation.

As such, the exports from the EU did not have any adverse effect on the domestic industry and considering the volume and prices of the exports from the EU it appears that there is no possibility of dumping recurring from the EU and injury being inflicted to the domestic industry on account of such imports.

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