On April 10, 2014, the International Trade Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "ITC") of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) made a decision that imports of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) have not caused or are not threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic industries producing like or directly competitive products.
The ITC found that HDPE and LLDPE were not like or directly competitive products, and the injury determinations have been made separately after evaluating all relevant factors having a bearing on the situations of the domestic HDPE and LLDPE industries. For HDPE, the ITC found that imports had not increased significantly in absolute terms and relative to domestic production, and the domestic HDPE industry has not been seriously injured or threatened. For LLDPE, the ITC found that while imports had increased in absolute terms and relative to the domestic production, it has not caused or are not threatening to cause serious injury to domestic LLDPE industry.
The MOEA instituted the investigation and made a public notice thereof on October 18, 2013, following receiving a petition from Taiwan Synthetic Resins Manufacturers Association on behalf of the domestic industry for raising tariff from 2.5% to 6.5% on imports of HDPE and LLDPE. To conduct the investigation, the ITC organized an investigation team to proceed with the investigation, invited all known interested parties to participate in the investigation and answer questionnaires, conducted on-site verification, held a public hearing, and the aforementioned procedures were notified to all known interested parties and posted on the ITC's website.
As a result of the injury determinations and pursuant to Article 20 of the Rules for Handling Import Relief Cases, the ITC shall submit the decision to the MOEA along with an investigation report within 15 days from the date of the decision, that is, April 25, 2014, and thereafter the MOEA shall notify the petitioner and all interested parties of the decision in writing and give a public notice thereof. The public Chinese version of the investigation report is expected to be available after April 30, 2014 from ITC’s website (http://www.moeaitc.gov.tw).
Spokesperson of International Trade Commission:
Herbert C.H. Juan, Acting Executive Secretary
Telephone: 886-2-2506-6670 ext. 101
E-mail: chjuan@mail.moeaitc.gov.tw
Contact person: Ms. Chang
Telephone: 886-2-2506-6670 ext. 521
E-mail: pfchang@mail.moeaitc.gov.tw