On November 20, 2018, at the request of the
Chinese pyridine industry, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced a
decision to launch a year-end reinvestigation into the tax rate applied to raw
pyridine imports from India and Japan. The Ministry of Commerce carried out an
investigation into the possible effects of removing anti-dumping tariffs on
Indian and Japanese raw pyridine imports, such as whether or not pyridine
dumping was likely to continue to occur or occur in the future, and whether or
not the removal of such tariffs would continue to harm the Chinese pyridine
industry or harm the industry in the future.
On November 7, 2019, the person who
originally requested the investigation submitted an appeal to the Ministry of
Commerce asking for the year-end reinvestigation to be closed.
The Ministry of Commerce opted to accept
the request and close the investigation. The Ministry of Commerce added a 27th
amendment to the Anti-Dumping Ordinance of the People’s Republic of China
(henceforth called the Anti-Dumping Ordinance), formally stating the end of the
investigation into raw pyridine imports from Japan and India and proclaiming
that anti-dumping tariffs should not be imposed on raw pyridine imports from
Japan and India after November 20, 2019. On November 21, 2019, the anti-dumping
tariffs were officially eliminated.
Anti-dumping tariff was response to
plummeting prices of Indian and Japanese imported pyridine
According to data from the “Pyridine
Anti-Dumping Tariff Investigation Appeal” submitted by Red Sun, during the
first half of 2012, the average price of Japanese and Indian pyridine imports
fell to 3441 USD per ton, while the average price of Chinese-produced pyridine
was 7920 USD per ton, over twice the price of the Indian and Japanese product.
Furthermore, many predicted at the time that the price of imported pyridine
would continue to drop. As these cheap imports seemed sure to harm China’s
domestic pyridine industry, on August 2, 2012, Nanjing Red Sun and Anhui Costar
Biochemical Ltd. represented China’s domestic pyridine industry in requesting
that the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China potentially
implement an anti-dumping tariff on Japanese and Indian pyridine imports. On
November 20, 2013, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce decided to implement an
anti-dumping tariff on raw pyridine imports from India and Japan, which was to
take effect on November 21, 2013 and last for at least five years.
Pyridine essential component in
agricultural and medicinal compounds
Pyridine is an agricultural compound and a
key ingredient in medicine, and it is also an important ingredient in chemical
engineering, animal feed, food additives, and radial tire production. In
medical and industrial fields, pyridine can be used as a special solvent. As a
chemical agent, pyridine can be used to produce a wide range of agricultural
chemicals, such as pesticides, disinfectants, weed killers, plant growth
regulators, vermin killer, as well as other types of chemical products. It may
also be used to produce paraquat, diquat, and chlorpyrifos, and in medicinal
fields it may be used to produce anti-tumor medicine, psychiatric medicine, as
well as other medicines. At the time when the anti-dumping tariffs were
implemented, the Chinese pyridine industry was experiencing enormous pressure
due to a sharp drop in price of Indian and Japanese imported pyridine, which
severely threatened the future of the Chinese industry.
For more information on China’s pyridine
market, please check our Herbicide China E-News.