EC extends China silicon antidumping duty to material from Taiwan

09/04/2013 12:00 - 421 Views

The European Commission has extended its 19% antidumping duty on imports of silicon metal originating in China to imports of silicon consigned from Taiwan, whether declared as originating in Taiwan or not, the EC said Friday.

The move comes as the result of an investigation launched last July following a request from European ferroalloys producer group Euroalliages, which argued that silicon shipped via Taiwan was circumventing the existing 19% duty on imports of silicon from China.

Euroalliages argued that there is no genuine production of silicon in Taiwan, and that silicon originating in China was being trans-shipped via Taiwan to the EU at prices which undermined the effects of the antidumping duties currently in place.

The EC investigation, which covered the period from January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2012, showed that imports of silicon from Taiwan into the EU rose by more than 300% in 2008 and doubled again in 2010, following the imposition of new measures against China.

The EC said it had confirmed that there is no production of silicon in Taiwan, with none of the Taiwanese producers/exporters denying the fact that they import the silicon they export from China.

Furthermore, it added, "the investigation did not bring to light any other due cause or economic justification for the transhipment than the avoidance of the measures in force on the product concerned, namely the 19% antidumping duty."

London (Platts)--5Apr2013/822 AM EDT/1222 GMT

Source: platts.com