The Finance Ministry has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) of 1500 and 1700 series imported from the European Union, Thailand and South Korea, for a period of five years, unless revoked earlier.
The domestic tyre industry is a significant consumer of SBR 1500 and 1700 series. SBR is the largest volume of synthetic rubber produced and consumed globally.
The petition seeking anti-dumping duty on SBR 1500 and 1700 series was filed by Indian Synthetic Rubber Private Ltd (ISRPL) and Reliance Industries Ltd.
ISRPL is a joint venture company, jointly promoted by Indian Oil Corporation; TSRC, Taiwan and Marubeni Corporation, Japan.
Based on the recommendations of the Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry in its final findings, the Revenue Department has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty that ranged from $28 per tonne to $266 per tonne, depending on the producer and country of export.
Commenting on the development, Rajiv Budhraja, Director-General of Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association, said this move will definitely have cost implications for the domestic tyre industry. “This will be more so as grade-wise domestic availability (of SBR) do not match with the requirements”, Budhraja told BusinessLine here.
Besides the issue of domestic availability, there are aspects of competitiveness of industry as also the additional cost that would play out for the domestic tyre industry in the wake of latest anti-dumping duty levy, he said. In the case of SBR produced by Kumho Petrochemical Co Ltd, South Korea, the Revenue Department has imposed anti-dumping duty of $33.95 per tonne.
For SBR produced by LG Chem Ltd, South Korea, the anti-dumping duty has been pegged at $28.68 per tonne. For all other producers from South Korea, the duty would be $64 per tonne.
In the case of SBR imports from Thailand, the dumping duty has been pegged at $243.60 per tonne.
As regards the European Union, imports of SBR produced and exported by Synthos Kralupy, A.S. Czech Republic, the anti-dumping duty has been pegged at $ 207.49 per tonne. In the case of imports from Synthos Dwory, Poland, the anti-dumping duty has been pegged at $207.49 per tonne. For all other producers and exporters from EU, the anti-dumping duty has been pegged at $266 per tonne.
