MOEA to help chemical firms after China imposes anti-dumping tariffs

Taipei, May 19 (CNA) The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will continue to support Taiwanese petrochemical manufacturers affected by China's newly imposed anti-dumping duties, the ministry said in a statement released Sunday.

The MOEA said it plans to invite potential foreign buyers to Taiwan to meet with local petrochemical firms and will continue assisting these companies in participating in international trade exhibitions to enhance their global visibility.

The statement came after China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced earlier Sunday that it has slapped anti-dumping tariffs ranging between 3.8 percent and 74.9 percent on polyformaldehyde copolymer imported from Taiwan, the European Union, the United States and Japan, effective on Monday.

According to the MOFCOM, an investigation launched in May 2024 concluded that the Chinese polyformaldehyde copolymer industry had suffered material injury as these exporters sold their in China at unfairly low prices.

Polyformaldehyde copolymer is an engineering thermoplastic used in precision parts requiring high stiffness, low friction, and excellent dimensional stability.

This material, which is able to partly replace metal materials such as copper, tin, zinc and lead, is usually seen in a wide range of products as automotive components, electronic and electrical appliances, industrial machinery.

Taiwan's Polyplastics Taiwan Co. and Formosa Plastics Corp. have been hit with company-specific tariffs of 3.8 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively. China has placed a 32.6 percent duty on all other Taiwanese exporters.

The U.S. saw the highest tariff of 74.9 percent on its polyformaldehyde copolymer products sold to China, while the duties on the EU stood at 34.5 percent, and the levies on Japanese firms between 24.5 percent and 34.5 percent.

The MOEA said soon after the probe was launched last year, the ministry had urged exporters to try their best to respond to questions raised by the Chinese authorities during the probe in a bid to protect their interest.

In addition, the MOEA said, it has also stepped up efforts to help Taiwanese firms secure orders coming around the world to diversify their buyer portfolios, including the Taiwan Select event held in April.

In the near future, the ministry plans to host a conference in early August to promote exchanges between Taiwan and India in the petrochemical sector. It will also lead a delegation to K Düsseldorf 2025 -- the world's largest trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry -- in October, to help foreign buyers gain a better understanding of Taiwan's products.

According to the MOEA, Taiwan's polyformaldehyde copolymer exports to China totaled US$86 million in 2024, accounting for 71.1 percent of Taiwan's total exports of the product.

However, due to the country's efforts to diversify its markets, exports to China dropped by 25.5 percent year-on-year to US$20.13 million in the first four months of this year, reducing their share to 61.7 percent of total outbound sales, the MOEA said.