São Paulo – The Ministerial Council of Brazil’s Foreign Trade Board (Camex) decided on Wednesday (29), according to a statement disclosed by the organisation, to place antidumping duties on Brazilian imports of plastic film (PET) and other items in the same sector imported from the United Arab Emirates, Mexico and Turkey. The material is used in production of other plastic products.
According to the Camex, in the case of the Emirates, the measure should result in a US$ 436.78 surcharge per tonne of the product exported by company Flex Middle East. In the case of other companies in the country, the surcharge will be US$ 576.32 per tonne.
The measure was taken two weeks after the visit of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade minister Fernando Pimentel to the Emirates, in the company of a trade delegation. The Camex is connected to Pimentel’s ministry and he presides the Ministerial Council.
The measure is valid for five years, according to the statement. It may be applied when a product is sold in the destination market for a lower price than that practiced in the country of origin.
In the case of Turkey, the surcharge will be US$ 67.44 per tonne for Polyplex Polyester Film and of US$ 646.12 per tonne for other companies. In the case of Mexico, the duty has been set at US$ 1,013.98 per tonne for the entire sector. The Camex informs that there are already antidumping measures in place against imports of the same products from India and China.
The petrochemical area is the area that is jamming free trade talks between Mercosur, the economic bloc that includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a bloc that includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, as well as the Emirates. The Brazilian petrochemical industry is against the opening of the sector due to competition with the nations in the region, great consumers of oil and its products. In Brazil, the sector is practically dominated by Braskem, a company in Odebrecht group. Talks for the agreement started in 2005.
*Translated by Mark Ament
