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(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Basic Industries
Corp., the world’s biggest petrochemical maker, plans to ask the World Trade
Organization to pressure India to lift an anti-dumping duty it imposed on Saudi
polypropylene, an official said.
India last week levied a duty of 6.5 percent per ton on Saudi exports of
polypropylene products, in an effort to protect its own producers of the
chemical. Other Saudi manufacturers affected by the duty include Advanced
Petrochemicals Co. and National Industrialization Co.
“This is an unjust decision by India, and we can’t tolerate it,”
Abdulrahman al-Zamil, a trade representative for Saudi petrochemical makers,
said today in a telephone interview. “The next stop for Saudi petrochemical
producers will be the World Trade Organization.” Al-Zamil heads the Riaydh
-based Export Development Center, which promotes Saudi exports other than crude
oil.
He said the Indian decision will not have a great financial impact on the
kingdom’s producers, as total petrochemical exports from Saudi Arabia to India
amount to what he described as a “modest” $200 million a year. Saudi suppliers
can easily shift their exports to China and other markets to avoid losses, he
said.
“The only people who are going to be seriously damaged now from this
decision are the 600,000 Indian manufacturers who are looking forward to
importing cheap polypropylene from Saudi Arabia,” al-Zamil added.
mrcplast.com
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