Preliminary Anti-dumping Determination
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) unanimously determined on July 17 that the fine denier polyester staple fibers produced in South Korea, China, Taiwan and India are negatively affecting producers in the United States. The U.S. Department of Commerce is planning to conduct additional investigations based on the preliminary determination of the USITC before determining whether or not the products have been dumped and fixing an anti-dumping tariff rate.
These days, the Donald Trump administration is imposing a series of import restrictions on South Korean products such as steel, washing machines and chemical products after officially demanding renegotiation of the KORUS FTA.
“The USITC is making an increasing number of preliminary determinations in favor of local enterprises with regard to South Korean products called into question,” said a South Korean chemical fiber manufacturer, adding, “The determination on the fine denier polyester staple fiber was made in less than two months from the initiation of the investigation, which was unprecedentedly fast.”
According to the Korea International Trade Association, a total of 21 import restrictions have been discussed on South Korean products since the beginning of this year and no less than one-third of them have been discussed in the U.S. government. Recently, the U.S. government imposed an anti-dumping duty of 44% on synthetic rubber imported from South Korea. Late last month, it initiated an investigation on low melt polyester staple fibers.