UPDATE: US to start antidumping probe on Chinese MDI on 5 March

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–The US International Trade Commission (ITC) will start on 5 March a preliminary antidumping probe on imports of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) from China, acting on a petition from BASF and Dow Chemical.

The MDI Fair Trade Coalition – consisting of BASF Corp (Florham Park, New Jersey); and Dow Chemical (Midland, Michigan) – filed the petition on 12 February, citing dumping margins of 305.81% to 507.13% for the Chinese material, according to ITC’s statement.

ITC will make a preliminary determination on possible dumping by end-March 2025.

Producers named in the petition included BASF Polyurethane (Chongqing), Covestro Polymers (China), Shanghai Lianheng Isocyanate, Wanhua Chemical Group, and Wanhua Chemical Ningbo.

China’s Wanhua Chemical is the world’s largest MDI producer.

Exporters named in the petition included Wanhua Chemical Ningbo, Wanhua Chemical (Singapore), Shandong Mingko Industry Corp, Healthcare Co Ltd and Beihai Xinli Trade Import & Export.

In 2024, the US imported around 229,000 tonnes of MDI from China, which accounted for 57% of total US MDI imports. The US in turn exported minimal amounts of MDI to China.

Chinese MDI is currently subject to 35% tariffs in the US, after the additional 10% levy implemented on 4 February 2025.

In his first term as US president, Donald Trump had imposed a 25% tariff on a host of Chinese goods, including MDI in May 2019.

China, on the other hand, has a 31.5% tariff on imports of US MDI – a 25% tariff on top of the baseline 6.5% duty.

(Recasts paragraph 4 for clarity; adds paragraph 6 for list of exporters)

Thumbnail image: Heavy Fog Hit Shanghai Port, China – 16 February 2025 (Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)