India announces dumping margins for rubber imported from Saudi, Russia, US, Singapore and China

New Delhi – Indian commerce ministry has issued preliminary dumping margins for imported isobutylene-isoprene rubber (IIR) from Saudi Arabia, Russia, US, Singapore and China.

A probe by the Indian directorate general of trade remedies (DGTR) launched in October last year found that “domestic industry has suffered injury as a result of the dumped goods from the subject countries.”

The injury margin, according to DGTR's 16 April report, “is significant”, adding that “no other factor appears to have caused injury to the domestic industry.”

Based on its findings, DGTR recommended dumping margins of 15-25% for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Jubail Petrochemical Co. (Kemya), with other suppliers from the country facing a 20-30% dumping margin.

Singapore-based ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte and ExxonMobil Chemical Asia Pacific face a 40-50% dumping margin and other Singaporean suppliers are recommended to incur rates of 45-55%.

The authority recommended a 25-35% dumping margin for ExxonMobil Product Solutions Co. in the US, and a 30-40% rate for other US suppliers.

In Russia, PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim has been assigned a rate of 50-60% and other Russian suppliers a 60-70% rate.

The Indian authority also recommended a 25-35% dumping margin for any Chinese supplier.

DGTR further recommended the imposition of provisional anti-dumping duties "equal to the lesser of dumping margins" so as to remove the injury to the domestic industry.

These duties range between $319/tonne and $729/tonne, depending on the country of origin and the country of export.

DGTR was initially scheduled to hold a hearing on the case 20 May, but has now delayed it to 24 May.

The probe was initiated upon a petition by local manufacturer Reliance Sibur Elastomers (RSE), which claimed that the stated imports had “materially retarded” the domestic industry.

According to the GDTR, RSE is India's “sole producer” of IIR, meeting a major proportion of domestic demand.

The period of investigation was January – December 2022 with the ‘injury analysis’ period extending to three preceding financial years.

IIR is a synthetic rubber commonly used to manufacture inner tubes for tires and other high-pressure tubes, noted the authority.

Food-grade IIR used in the production of chewing gum was excluded from the scope of the product under consideration.