India Lifts Anti-Dumping Duty on Import of Saudi Polypropylene.

Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- India has lifted an anti-dumping duty imposed on polypropylene imported from Saudi Arabian suppliers, including Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the world’s biggest petrochemical maker.

The change is effective from the day the notification is published in the Gazette of India, the official record of government rules, the Central Board of Excise and Customs said in a statement dated Dec. 30 on its website. There was no reason given for the amendment.

India imposed a 6.5 percent anti-dumping duty in November 2010 on polypropylene imports from Saudi Arabia, Oman and Singapore because it said the shipments were valued at less than normal prices and would hurt domestic manufacturers. Reliance Industries Ltd., controlled by Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, has a 70 percent share of the country’s polypropylene market, according to its website.

Saudi companies affected by the duty, including Advanced Petrochemicals Co. and National Industrialization Co., said at the time they would ask the World Trade Organization to pressure India to lift the tax. India and Saudi Arabia would be able to resolve the dispute without going to the WTO, India’s Trade Secretary Rahul Khullar said in December 2010.

Central Board of Excise and Customs Chairman S.K. Goel couldn’t immediately be reached on his office telephone for comment.

Total petrochemical exports from Saudi Arabia to India amount to $200 million a year, Abdulrahman al-Zamil, a trade representative for Saudi petrochemical makers, said on Nov. 28, 2010.

The statement didn’t mention the tax on polypropylene imports from Singapore and Oman. The duty was retroactive to July 30, 2009, and valid for five years from then. Polypropylene is used in straws, carpets and garden furniture.

Source : businessweek.com