Favorable policies, the high-end development of domestic PVC is at the time

On August 18, the Ministry of Commerce received from Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical Co., Ltd., Xinjiang Tianye (Group) Co., Ltd., Shaanxi Beiyuan Chemical Group Co., Ltd., Tianjin Dagu Chemical Co., Ltd. and Yibin Tianyuan Group Co., Ltd. An anti-dumping investigation application formally submitted on behalf of the domestic PVC industry. The applicant requested an anti-dumping investigation on imported PVC originating in the United States.

On September 25, the Ministry of Commerce issued an announcement regarding the anti-dumping investigation of imported polyvinyl chloride originating in the United States.

The main content of the announcement

In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Anti-dumping Regulations of the People’s Republic of China, the Ministry of Commerce conducts investigations on the qualifications of applicants, the relevant information of the products applied for investigation, the relevant information of similar products in China, the impact of the products applying for investigation on domestic industries, and the relevant information of the country applying for investigation. After reviewing, it was decided to initiate an anti-dumping investigation against imports of polyvinyl chloride originating in the United States from September 25, 2020. The dumping investigation period determined in this investigation is from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, and the industrial damage investigation period is from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019.

The investigation will begin on September 25, 2020, and the investigation should normally be terminated before September 25, 2021, and can be extended to March 25, 2022 under special circumstances.

What should we do about the development of the PVC industry?

The commodity PVC under the anti-dumping investigation is one of the world's largest production of general-purpose plastic materials, and it is also a very important primary chemical product with a wide range of applications. In addition to the production of our more common plastic products, it is also used in construction materials, industrial products, sealing materials and high-strength fiber manufacturing.

This is the second time that China's Ministry of Commerce has initiated an anti-dumping investigation against PVC originating in the United States. As early as September 2003, China's Ministry of Commerce imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of PVC originating in the United States, Japan and other countries.

With the rapid development of China's chemical industry, domestic PVC has gradually begun to replace imported products. In October 2019, the Ministry of Commerce of China issued an announcement that anti-dumping duties would no longer be imposed on imports of PVC originating in the United States and other countries.

In October 2017, the World Health Organization classified polyvinyl chloride as a three-category carcinogen, which dealt a severe blow to primary polyvinyl chloride products, causing prices to plummet. However, the impact on high-end PVC products is minimal, and related companies in the United States and Japan have made a lot of money.

According to statistics, at present, Union Carbide of the United States and Borealis of Sweden account for about half of the global high-end PVC products market share. Relying on technological and financial advantages, high industry barriers have been built, making it difficult for external companies to enter. With absolute market voice and pricing power, US-produced PVC can quickly occupy the market through large-scale dumping.

For Chinese companies that want to enter the high-end PVC industry, they not only have to pay huge patent fees, but they also have no price advantage in the product sales stage. Such a cyclical cycle can only cause the industry to become more concentrated and eventually form an oligopoly. It is not just China's PVC, but the entire Chinese chemical industry.

Relevant experts said that if my country’s PVC manufacturing enterprises want to survive and develop in the fierce international market competition, they must give top priority to improving the production technology level of their products and the R&D capabilities of new products. The old industrial structure has been transformed to be able to meet the needs of the modern market.