A December 30 statement on the website of India’s Central Board of Excise and Customs indicates that the country has lifted anti-dumping duty on Saudi Arabian polypropylene without giving a reason for the decision.
A 6.5% duty was first imposed on polypropylene imports from Saudi petrochemical companies such as Saudi Basic Industries, Advanced Petrochemicals Co. and National Industrialization Co., after a request from Reliance Industries, which produces over 50% of
Abdullah Al-Garawi, CEO and president of Advanced Petrochemicals Co., told the Bloomberg news agency on January 2 that he had received confirmation from the Saudi Ministry of Petroleum, which was placed in charge of the anti-dumping negotiations last year, that the duty had been lifted.
“We had a hearing on December 20 in India and our lawyers were there, but all of a sudden the hearings were cancelled and we were not told the reason,” he said. “It’s clear that the issue was resolved at a higher official level.”
The decision comes at an important time for relations between the two countries. A Saudi trade delegation to
In related news, Saudi Polymers is expecting to begin commercial production of its newly built 445,000tpa propylene and 400,000tpa polypropylene plants in 1Q12. Saudi Polymers is jointly owned by National Petrochemicals Company (Petrochem) and Arabian Chevron Phillips Petrochemical Company Ltd.