New Antidumping Duties Requested on Dioctyl Terephthalate From 4 Countries
Eastman Chemical seeks the imposition of new antidumping duties on dioctyl terephthalate from Taiwan, Turkey, Malaysia and Poland, it said in petitions filed with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission March 26. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD orders and the assessment of AD on importers.
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According to the petition, imports from the four countries have increased rapidly since the imposition of an AD order on dioctyl terephthalate from South Korea in 2017. Imports from Taiwan, Turkey, Malaysia and Poland increased by 224% from 2020 to 2022, Eastman said, and were "virtually non-existent" at the time the South Korea order was issued.
Proposed Scope
The petition proposes the following scope for the investigations, which it said is the same as the scope of the existing order on dioctyl terephthalate from South Korea:
"The merchandise covered by this Petition is dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP), regardless of form. DOTP that has been blended with other products is included within this scope when such blends include constituent parts that have not been chemically reacted with each other to produce a different product. For such blends, only the DOTP component of the mixture is covered by the scope of these investigations.
"DOTP that is otherwise subject to these investigations is not excluded when commingled with DOTP from sources not subject to these investigations. Commingled refers to the mixing of subject and non-subject DOTP. Only the subject component of such commingled products is covered by the scope of these investigations.
"DOTP has the general chemical formulation C6 H4 (C8 H17 COO)2 and a chemical name of "bis (2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate" and has a Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) registry number of 6422–86–2. Regardless of the label, all DOTP is covered by these investigations.
"Subject merchandise is currently classified under subheading 2917.39.2000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Subject merchandise may also enter under subheadings 2917.39.7000 or 3812.20.1000 of the HTSUS. While the CAS registry number and HTSUS classification are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of these investigations is dispositive."
Commerce Accepting Comments on Petition Support
The Commerce Department is accepting comments on domestic industry support for the petitions to determine whether the petitions meet the dual requirements of support by domestic producers or workers accounting for (1) at least 25% of the total production of the domestic-like product and (2) more than 50% of the production of the domestic-like product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the petition. If the petitions meet these requirements, among others, Commerce will initiate antidumping and countervailing duty investigations. Comments are due by April 8.