China’s Ministry of Commerce announced recently that it will impose punitive tariffs on n-propanol imported by American companies after finding that they are dumping the chemicals.
N-propanol, also known as normal propanol or 1-propanol, is an alcohol that can be used to make esters used to produce lubricants and can also be used in production of a variety of other materials, including inks, soaps, disinfectants and pharmaceuticals.
In a July 17 statement, the ministry said it had reached a preliminary conclusion that Dow Chemical Co., Oxea Corp. and others were selling n-propanol into China at below normal prices and that those actions were materially harming Chinese n-propanol producers. The ministry therefore imposed duties of 254% on Dow imports and 267% against Oxea and others, having calculated that those were the margins by which the companies are underpricing their products.
The ministry described the duties as a temporary measure. China and the United States are mired in a deepening trade battle, and tensions have also been rising over a series of political conflicts over issues ranging from China territorial claims in the South China Sea to the country’s treatment of Uighur citizens.
Neither Dow nor Oxea have commented on the action.