Saudi exporters urged the government on Saturday to slap import duties on Chinese exports, including steel and plastics, to retaliate for what they claim was the planned imposition of a duty on Saudi methanol exports.
Saudi International Petrochemical Co (Sipchem) said last week China had imposed a duty on methanol imports.
On June 24, China said it had begun an anti-dumping investigation into methanol imported from Saudi Arabia and three other countries to assess whether the material had been dumped below production prices.
“The government needs to move,” Abdul-Rahman al-Zamil, who heads the National Centre for the Development of Saudi Exports, told a news conference. He is also a Sipchem board member.
The government should follow up complaints by Saudi firms about the dumping of Chinese products on the Saudi market, he said.
“Everybody complains about Chinese merchandise … the Chinese steel, plastics and electrical industries are hurting our industries because of dumping,” he said.
China said last week its investigation would determine whether methanol – used in blended gasoline — has been dumped onto the Chinese market at prices below production costs, and ascertain the losses incurred by Chinese producers as a result.
Zamil said methanol exports to China account for about 10-15 percent of Saudi petrochemical exports, estimated at $2 billion in 2008.
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