The US Department of Commerce might levy an anti-dumping duty of up to 48.86 percent on imports of fine denier polyester staple fiber from Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The fiber is used to manufacture disposable medical nonwoven textiles, and demand in the US is growing, the Bureau of Foreign Trade said in a statement.
Tainan Spinning Co (台南紡織) is not affected by the ruling, but Far Eastern New Century Corp (遠東新世紀) might face a duty of up to 48.86 percent, the bureau said, citing the department’s affirmative final ruling.
The US International Trade Commission is also working on the anti-dumping investigation to determine whether the US industry has been harmed by cheaper imports.
The department is expected to issue an anti-dumping order if the commission makes its final injury determinations on or before July 9, the bureau said.
Taiwan was the US’ sixth-largest source of fine denier polyester staple fiber imports last year, with sales of US$7.43 million and shipments of 5,307 tonnes, taking up 4.99 percent of the market, the bureau said, citing US customs data.
The department is to instruct US Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of fine denier polyester staple fiber from Taiwan and three other nations — China, India and South Korea — based on these final rates, according to a statement on its Web site.
Anti-dumping duties on Taiwanese exporters are lower than those on China’s, which range from 65.17 to 103.06 percent, according to the department’s latest ruling.
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