India considers extension on 2017 antidumping duties

DELHI—The Indian government has initiated a "sunset review" of antidumping duties against styrene butadiene rubber imported from Europe, South Korea and Thailand.

The country initially imposed the duties in 2017 and covered on SBR 1500 and SBR 1700 series, according to India's Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).

The authority is now investigating the extension of the duties following a petition by Reliance Industries Ltd., which claimed that the dumping of subject goods continued from the European Union and Korea "even after imposition of antidumping duty."

The petition, said DGTR, claimed that there was a likelihood of recurrence of injury to the domestic industry once the duties are removed.

In 2017, highest duties were imposed on European imports, including ESBR supplied by Synthos Kralupy A.S. of the Czech Republic and Synthos Dwory 7 Sp. Z. Oo. of Poland, which faced a tariff of $207.49 per metric ton.

Other EU suppliers faced a duty of $266 per metric ton.

Among the European companies that were also investigated at the time were Versalis Sp.A., Lanxess A.G. (now Arlanxeo), Styron L.L.C. and Trinseo Pvt. Ltd. (now owned by Synthos).

South Korean companies, for which India is the second SBR export market, also faced antidumping duties, albeit at lower rates.

The government imposed a rate of $33.95 per metric ton in duties for synthetic rubber imported from Kumho Petrochemical, while LG Chem faced a tariff of $28.68 per metric ton.

For other Korean companies, the Indian authority levied an antidumping duty of $64 per metric ton.

Thai SBR suppliers faced tariffs of $243.6 per metric ton.