On March 21, 2024, the Foreign Trade Secretariat (SECEX) announced in the Official Gazette of the Mercosur Common Nomenclature (NCM) No. 11/2024, the commencement of an investigation into the dumping of synthetic staple fiber products made from polyester (Polyester Staple Fiber) exported to Brazil, commonly classified under HS code 5503.20.90 of the Mercosur Common Nomenclature (NCM), originating from China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and India.
The petitioner identified was the Brazilian Association of Synthetic and Synthetic Fiber Manufacturers (ABRAFAS), who filed the request for the initiation of the investigation on October 31, 2023.
The Brazilian Foreign Trade Secretariat stated that there were sufficient grounds to indicate dumping behavior in exports from China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and India to Brazil, causing injury to the domestic manufacturing industry.
The alleged dumping margins for synthetic staple fiber products made from polyester are as follows:
- China: USD 467.64/t / 45%
- Vietnam: USD 385.25/t / 39.3%
- Thailand: USD 288.64/t / 26.9%
- Malaysia: USD 459.43/t / 49.1%
According to SECEX’s announcement, some notable deadlines include:
- The deadline for registration as an interested party in the case is April 10, 2024.
- The deadline for responding to questionnaires for mandatory respondents and interested exporters is May 2, 2024, extendable to June 3, 2024, for mandatory respondents.
- The deadline for responding to questionnaires for importers and domestic producers in Brazil is April 26, 2024, extendable to May 27, 2024, at the latest.
In addition to Brazil’s investigation, the United States is also initiating a global safeguard investigation into synthetic staple fiber products made from polyester under HS code 5503.20.0025.
According to USITC data, during the period 2021-2023, the export value of the investigated staple fiber products from Vietnam to the United States was approximately USD 5.9 million. In 2023 alone, the export value of the investigated products from Vietnam was USD 5.2 million, ranking 8th among exporting countries to the United States and accounting for 3% of the total import market share into the United States.
For more details, refer to the announcement here.
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