The United States has set preliminary anti-dumping duties of up to 110.43 per cent and 258.21 per cent on school supplies of lined paper from India and China respectively, the US commerce department has said in a statement.
The order is in response to a case filed by the Association of American School Paper Suppliers based in Ohio, Tennessee and Georgia. The products include notebooks, filler paper and composition books.
The US department noticed various instances where imports had surged. This may have triggered the decision to impose duties retroactively to mid-January 2006.
The US had already imposed a countervailing duty margin of 2.2 per cent to 7.2 per cent on all imports from India. Anti-dumping margins of 97.85 per cent to 118.63 per cent and countervailing duty margins of 33.31 per cent on imports from Indonesia had also been imposed for the same products.
The US commerce department said its preliminary investigation found that Chinese and Indian paper notebooks were being sold in the U S market at less than fair value, with margins ranging from 22.53 per cent to 110.43 per cent for Indian and 52.10 per cent to 258.21 per cent for Chinese products, Reuters said.
This comes despite a fall in India's export of paper goods to the US following a rise in domestic consumption and opening up of various other markets. Imports to the US from India declined from 37.4 million units in 2003 to 31.4 million units in 2005.
US imports from China, on the other hand, have risen to 334.3 million units in 2005 from 198.3 million in 2003, the US department said in a release. Final anti-dumping duties are expected to be issued by July 28 for India and by August 28 for China, said the news agency.
Paper exporters in the two countries could still escape the duties if the US International Trade Commission decides that US companies have not been materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by the imports. The ITC is scheduled to make this ruling in September 2006 for Indian exporters and in October for the Chinese.
Do you want to discuss stock tips? Do you know a hot one? Join the Stock Market Investments Discussion Group
© 2025