March 28, 2018 - 11:03 BJT (03:03 GMT)   MOFCOM

The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "MOFCOM" or the "Ministry of Commerce") received, on February 2, 2018, a written petition for anti-dumping investigation formally submitted by PetroChina Company Limited Jilin Petrochemical Branch, Changchun Chemical (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., Xisa Chemical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Shanghai Sinopec Mitsui Chemicals Co., Ltd., China BlueStar Harbin Petrochemical Co., Ltd., Shiyou Chemical (Yangzhou) Co., Ltd. and Huizhou Zhongxin Chemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "the Applicant") on behalf of domestic industry of phenol, in which the Applicant requested an anti-dumping investigation to be conducted against imports of phenol originating in the United States, the EU, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand. In accordance with relevant provisions of the Anti-dumping Regulations of the People's Republic of China, the MOFCOM conducted an investigation into the qualification of the Applicant, relevant situations of the products in question and the products of the same kind in China, impact of the imported products on domestic industry and the relevant situations of countries (regions) involved.

According to the evidence provided by the Applicant and the preliminary review of the Ministry of Commerce, the total output of phenol of the Applicant in 2014, 2015, 2016 and the first nine months of 2017 accounts for more than 50% of that of the same kind in China, and therefore Article 11 and Article 13 of the Anti-dumping Regulations of the People's Republic of China on applying by domestic industry for anti-dumping investigation are met.

It is claimed in the petition that, imports of phenol originating in the United States, the EU, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand are exported to China at a price lower than the normal value. According to the evidence and information reasonably obtained by the Applicant, with the sales price of phenol in the United States, the EU, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand as the basis for determining the normal value and the price of the products from the United States, the EU, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand exported to China according to the statistics of Chinese customs as the basis for determining the export price, adjusted by various factors affecting the comparability of the prices, it is claimed in the petition that the dumping margin of the products involved in the petition is comparatively large. In the meanwhile, it is claimed in the petition, that the products entering into Chinese market soar with price significantly going down, and therefore cut down the prices of similar products in the domestic market, thus leading to lower market share, dramatic decline of the selling price and the pretax profit as a whole, fall in ROI and substantial damages to domestic industry. Moreover, there are causal links between the dumping of the underlying products and the substantive injuries suffered by the domestic industry. Upon review, the Ministry of Commerce believes that the petition contains the contents and relevant evidence as required in Article 14 and Article 15 of the Anti-dumping Regulations of the People's Republic of China.

As per the above-mentioned results, the MOFCOM decides, according to Article 16 of the Anti-dumping Regulations of the People's Republic of China, to file the anti-dumping investigation against imports of phenol originating in the United States, the EU, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand as of March 26, 2018. Now the relevant matters are hereby announced as below:

I. Filing of Investigation and Investigation Period

As of the issue date hereof, the MOFCOM files the anti-dumping investigation against imports of phenol originating in the United States, the EU, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand. The anti-dumping investigation period determined upon the examination is from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017, and the investigation period for industrial damages is from January 1, 2014 to September 30, 2017.

II. Products under Investigation and Scope of Investigation

Scope of investigation: imports of phenol originating in the United States, the EU, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand.

Name of the products under investigation: 苯酚
English name: Phenol
Chemical formula:
Chemical structural formula:
　　
Physical and chemical characteristics: Phenol is usually colorless needle-like or white bulk crystals at room temperature, soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, glycerol, carbon disulfide, slightly soluble in water at room temperature and almost insoluble in petroleum ether. It is strongly corrosive and flammable.

Main purposes: Phenol, as an important organic chemical material, is mainly used for the preparation of phenolic resin, bisphenol A, caprolactam, alkyl phenols, salicylic acid and other industrial raw materials. It can also be used as a solvent, reagent, and disinfectant, and widely used in synthetic fibers, plastics, medicine, pesticides, perfumes, dyes, coatings, and oil refining industry as well as other fields.
The product is listed under tariff number of 29071110 in the Customs Import and Export Tariff of the People’s Republic of China.

III. Registration for Participating in the Investigation

Any interested party may register with the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce for participating in this round of anti-dumping investigation within 20 days after the date of release hereof. Interested parties participating in the investigation are required to provide basic identity information, quantity and amount of the products under investigation exported to or importing from China, quantity and amount of similar products produced and sold and relationship and other illustrative materials based on the Reference Format of the Registration to Participate in the Investigation, which can be downloaded from the related website (URL attached, the same below).

For the purposes hereof, the interested parties are individuals and organizations as defined in Article 19 of the Anti-dumping Regulations of the People's Republic of China.

IV. Access to Public Information

The interested parties can download the unclassified text of the application submitted by the Applicant through the relevant websites, or search, read, transcribe and copy the same in the MOFCOM Trade Relief Public Information Office (Tel.: 0086-10-65197878). In the process of investigation, the interested parties can refer to public information about the case through the relevant websites, or search, read, transcribe and copy the same in the MOFCOM Trade Relief Public Information Office.

V. Comments

If any interested party has any comments on the product scope, the qualification of the applicant, countries (regions) covered by the investigation regarding this investigation and other related questions, it may submit its opinions in written form to Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce within 20 days after the date of release hereof.

VI. Investigation Methods

In accordance with Article 20 of the Anti-dumping Regulations of the People's Republic of China, the MOFCOM may get to know the related situation and conduct investigation via questionnaire, sampling, hearing, site investigation and other manners from the interested parties.

In order to obtain the information required for the investigation of this case, the MOFCOM usually issues questionnaires within 10 working days from the deadline for registering for participating in the investigation as prescribed herein, to overseas importers or producers and domestic manufacturers and importers. Interested parties registered can download the questionnaire from the relevant sites.

Information inquired in the Questionnaire for Foreign Exporters or Producers of the Anti-dumping Case of Phenol includes such matters as organization and operation of the company, products under investigation, export sales to China (Mainland), domestic sales, operation and financial information, production costs and relevant expenses, estimated dumping margin and verification sheets as well as other contents. The information inquired in the Questionnaire for Domestic Producers of the Anti-dumping Case of Phenol includes the basic information of the company, details of the domestic products of the same kind, operation and relevant information, financial and relevant information as well as other issues required to be stated. The information inquired in the Questionnaire for Domestic Importers of the Anti-dumping Case of Phenol includes the basic information of the company, the trading information of the products under investigation and relevant information.

Other interested parties who do not register for participating in the investigation can download the questionnaire from the related websites, or obtain the same from the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce and fill in the same as required.

All the companies are required to submit complete and accurate answers within the time as specified. Answers shall include all the information as required by the questionnaires.

VII. Submission and Processing of Confidential Information

Where it is necessary to keep confidential the information submitted by the interested parties to the MOFCOM, they may request the MOFCOM to make confidential treatments and explain the reasons. If the MOFCOM agrees on its request, the interested party applying for confidentiality shall provide non-confidential summary of the confidential information at the same time. Non-confidential summary shall contain sufficient and meaningful information to enable other interested parties to have a reasonable understanding of the confidential information. If the non-confidential summary cannot be provided, reasons shall be made clear. If the interested party does not require for confidential treatment for the information it has submitted, the MOFCOM will consider the said information as public information.

VIII. Consequences of Non-cooperation

In accordance with Article 21 of the Anti-dumping Regulations of the People's Republic of China, when the MOFCOM makes an investigation, an interested party shall faithfully reflect situations and provide relevant materials. If an interested party fails to do so, fails to provide necessary information within a reasonable time, or seriously impedes an investigation in any other way, the MOFCOM may give a ruling according to facts already obtained and the best information available.

IX. Investigation Period

This investigation starts on March 26, 2018, and usually ends prior to March 26, 2019; however, the investigation can be extended to September 26, 2019 under special circumstances.

X. Contact Information

Address: No.2 Dong Chang'an Avenue, Beijing, China
Postal code: 100731
Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce
Tel.: 0086-10-65198474, 65198194
Fax: 0086-10-65198474

Related websites: the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau sub-website of the MOFCOM website (http://trb.mofcom.gov.cn).
China Trade Remedy Information Network (http://cacs.mofcom.gov.cn)

Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China
March 26, 2018