The European Union has imposed provisional antidumping duty rates on US imports of vinyl acetate, it said in a statement Wednesday.
The duties, which are due to take effect Thursday and apply for a period of six months, have been set at 12.1% against Celanese, 13% against LyondellBasell Acetyls and 13.8% against Dow Chemical and any other US vinyl-acetate producers.
The EU said the move aims "to re-establish a fair level playing field" in the EU market for vinyl acetate following a complaint lodged on October 22, 2010 by the UK's Ineos Oxide, which was supported by German company Wacker Chemie.
The two companies represent more than 25% of the total EU output of vinyl acetate.
"[Following] analysis of the effects of all known factors on the situation [the EU] provisionally concluded that there is a causal link between the dumped imports from the USA and the material injury suffered by the Union industry during the investigation period," the EU said.
The investigation period covered October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010.
