PLAYING BY THE RULES: China's antidumping decisions are tough, but the system is becoming more transparent

CHINA HAS ISSUED TOUGH RULings against foreign chemical producers in antidumping cases in the past few weeks. But it has also been promulgating more precise regulations for the conduct of future dumping investigations. In February, China's Ministry of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation imposed duties as high as 48% on South Korean producers of polyester staple fiber. MOFTEC also slapped duties of up to 52% on South Korean polyester chips. One of the trade ministry's first announcements in 2003 was a decision to require producers of caprolactam in Japan, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Russia to pay deposits on their exports to China. The decisions followed investigations lasting over a year and conducted by both MOFTEC and the State Economic & Trade Commission. At present, according to Tian Yu, a senior partner at the law firm Jincheng in Beijing, the trade ministry decides whether dumping is actually taking place and sets the antidumping duties. In ...