US ups the ante on PSF ‘dumping’

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) made a unanimous preliminary determination that unfairly-traded imports of fine denier polyester staple fibre (fine denier PSF) from China, India, Korea, and Taiwan are causing injury to US producers. The preliminary injury determination means that the anti-dumping duty cases against imports from China, India, Korea, and Taiwan, along with the countervailing duty cases against China and India, will proceed.

Three major US polyester fibre producers – DAK Americas LLC (DAK), Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, America (Nan Ya), and Auriga Polymers Inc. (Auriga) – filed petitions with the ITC and the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) on May 31, 2017 alleging that dumped imports of fine denier PSF from all four countries, and subsidised imports of fine denier PSF from China and India, are causing material injury to the domestic industry.

Imports of fine denier PSF from the four subject countries increased by nearly 68 per cent between 2014 and 2016. The import surge was driven by low import prices that undersold the domestic industry, causing US producers to lose significant sales and profits.

The product covered by the petition is fine denier polyester staple fibre, which is a synthetic staple fibre of polyesters measuring less than 3.3 decitex (3 denier) in diameter. Fine denier PSF is generally cut in lengths of less than five inches (127 mm). Fine denier PSF is similar in appearance to cotton or wool. It is typically converted either to yarn for weaving or knitting into fabric or to a non-woven textile prior to the end-use application. Woven applications include the production of textiles such as clothing and bedding linens, for example. Non-woven applications include the production of household and hygiene products such as cleaning wipes, baby wipes, and diapers.