Arkema seeks anti-dumping duties on Chinese R32
24th January 2020
USA: Refrigerant producer Arkema has filed a petition seeking import duties of nearly 90% to be placed on imports of R32 from China.
Arkema Inc, with its plant in Calvert City, Kentucky, is the only R32 manufacturer in the US. It is seeking relief under US antidumping duty laws from what it describes as “unfairly traded imports” of R32 from China.
The petition alleges that R32 from China is sold at less than fair value, causing material injury to the US R32 industry, and threatening to continue doing so if left unchecked.
The “mildly flammable” A2L refrigerant is an important component in a number of HFC blends, in particular as a blend with R125 in the most common air conditioning refrigerant R410A.
Arkema claims that since 2017 foreign-backed blending operations have entered the US in an attempt to bypass the existing antidumping duty order on HFC blends from China, which was imposed in August 2016. It maintains that because the current order does not cover components like R32, blenders can purchase cheap Chinese R32 to make HFC blends in the US market.
Related stories:
US imposes duties on Chinese HFC blends – 19 August 2016
USA: Dumping duties on certain HFC blends from China was passed today by the US government with its publication in the Federal Register. Read more…
USITC seeks duties on blends not components – 26 July 2016
USA: The USITC has voted to impose anti-dumping duties on HFC refrigerant blends from China but not on their individual components. Read more…
Anti-dumping duties “unfair” – 6 July 2016
USA: National Refrigerants has warned that the imposition of anti-dumping duties on the import of Chinese refrigerants could jeopardise the future of the company. Read more…
