Brazil to investigate alleged US, Canada PE dumping

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Brazil is to start an investigation into polyethylene (PE) arriving on its shores from the US and Canada and whether the material constituted dumping, the government said.

As previously reported by ICIS, the proposals to investigate came from polymers major Braskem and were backed by Brazil’s chemicals trade group representing producers, Abiquim.

Braskem is the dominant PE producers in Brazil, and antidumping duties (ADDS) on US- and Canada-originated PE would considerably prop up its domestic market position.

The start of investigation proceedings was published in Brazil’s Diario Oficial da Uniao (Official Gazette). The investigation is to be carried out by the Department of Commercial Defense (Decom), which is part of the Ministry of Industry’s Secretary of Foreign Trade.

Braskem filed on July 31 a petition to initiate an investigation into the practice of dumping of PE resins exports to Brazil with US or Canadian origin.

The analysis of the evidence of dumping is to consider the period from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, while the period for analyzing potential damage caused to domestic producers is to consider the period from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2024.

“Due to the large number of producers/exporters from the US and Canada identified in the detailed data on Brazilian imports … the producers or exporters responsible for the largest reasonably investigable percentage of the export volume of the exporting country will be selected to send the questionnaire,” said Decom.

“The absolute dumping margins determined for the purposes of this document reached $220.95/tonne and $264.99/tonne, and the relative margins were 21.4% and 26.9% for the US and Canada, respectively. It can be inferred that, if such dumping margins did not exist, domestic industry prices could have reached higher levels, reducing or even eliminating the effects of the investigated imports.”

Braskem said earlier in November it is lobbying the Brazilian government to extend ADDs on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) beyond 2025 when they are due to expire.

In October, the government implemented higher import tariffs on several chemicals, also after heavy pressure by domestic producers and their trade group Abiquim.

Additional reporting by Bruno Menini