Malaysia has imposed provisional anti-dumping import duties on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) originating or exported from China and Indonesia.
The Ministry set anti-dumping duties ranging from 6.33% to 37.44%.
The country’s Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry said in a statement that the provisional duties will be effective for at most 120 days, beginning from Jan. 7, 2025. A final determination is scheduled for May 6 at the latest.
Anti-dumping duties are taxes imposed on imported goods in order to compensate for the difference between their export price and their normal value, if dumping causes injury to producers of competing products in the importing country.
Malaysia started anti-dumping duty investigations on imports of PET from China and Indonesia in summer 2024, according to a Ministry statement dated Aug. 9, 2024.
The investigation was triggered by a petition from Malaysian PET and textiles manufacturer Recron Sdn. Bhd.
Recron alleged that PET originating or exported from China and Indonesia was sold in Malaysia at a price much lower than its domestic selling price. The Malaysia company further claimed that dumped imports from China and Indonesia have increased in terms of absolute quantity and have caused it material injuries.
In its Jan. 7, 2025, statement announcing the provisional duties, the Ministry said it found sufficient evidence of PET dumping from China and Indonesia.
“The Government has found that there are sufficient evidences [sic] to continue with further investigation on the importation of the subject merchandise from the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Indonesia. Therefore, the Government has decided to impose a provisional measure, which shall be in the form of provisional anti-dumping duties guaranteed by a security equivalent to the amount of the dumping margins determined in the preliminary determination,” the statement reads.
The Ministry is inviting interested parties, including importers, forging products, exports, and associations, to provide comments or views on the report of the preliminary anti-dumping duties. The deadline is Jan. 17, 2025.
In April 2024, the European Union also imposed anti-dumping duties between 6.6% and 24.2% on imports of certain PET products from China.
Imports of PET into Europe doubled between 2021 and 2022, reaching 1.9 million tonnes. India, China and Turkey were amongst the biggest exporters in terms of volumes and value followed by Indonesia, Egypt and Vietnam. Imports represented nearly 30% of the total demand for PET in Europe in 2022, compared to only 23% in 2020.
Industry groups have warned that low demand and competition with cheap virgin imports endangers the European plastics recycling industry.