On January 29th, 2024, the Ministry of Economy published the Notice of initiation of the Antidumping Investigation on Imports of Polyester Resin, originating from China in the Mexican Official Gazette.
Update: Final Determination
On May 29th, 2025, the Ministry of Economy published the Final Determination of the investigation in the Official Gazette of the Federation. During this procedure, VTZ represented six Chinese producers and one US trader: Jiangsu Hailun Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Jiangsu Xingye Plastic Co. Ltd., Jiangyin Xingtai New Material Co. Ltd., Jiangyin Xingyu New Material Co. Ltd., Chongqing Wankai New Materials Technology Co. Ltd., Wankai New Materials Co. Ltd., and Tricon Dry Chemicals, LLC.
VTZ Participation
In its Preliminary Determination, the Ministry provisionally decided not to use the normal value information of the producing companies to calculate dumping margins. The reasons for this decision varied from company to company, but were summarized as alleged inconsistencies in the information submitted. At VTZ, we designed a strategy to clarify these inconsistencies and reverse the determination.
After implementing the strategy, the Ministry of Economy accepted and used the normal value information of the Chinese producers to calculate an individual dumping margin for each company in the Final Determination. In the end, the following antidumping duties were imposed:
This result greatly benefits the Chinese PET industry and Mexican importers of this product. All of our clients obtained an individual dumping margin based on their own information. In addition, exports by Chongqing Wankai and Wankai New Materials are free of antidumping duties. This is the first time in years that a Chinese company has obtained an antidumping duty-free status for its exports to Mexico following an antidumping investigation.
Petitioners
The companies, Alpek Polyester México, S.A. de C.V. (APM), and Indorama Ventures Polymers México, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Indorama) are domestic producers in Mexico and requested the antidumping investigation
Investigated Product
The product under investigation is Polyester Resin or Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Resin, also known as PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate), with an intrinsic viscosity equal to or greater than 60 milliliters/gram (ml/g) (0.60 deciliter/gram (dL/g)), including blends of virgin PET resin with recycled or recovered PET, provided such blends meet the intrinsic viscosity requirements above.
Mexican Tariff Item
Polyester Resin enters under tariff items 3907.61.01 and 3907.69.99 of the Mexican Tariff of the General Import and Export Tax Law (TIGIE). Before 2022, the MxHS code was 3907.60.99.
Normal Value Determination
The Ministry rejected that China is a non-market economy per the
evidence and claims submitted by the petitioners. As a result, the
Ministry of Economy determined the normal value according to the
constructed value methodology.
Period of Investigation (Dumping)
July 1st, 2022, to June 30th, 2023.
Period of Analysis (Injury)
July 1st, 2020, to June 30th, 2023.
Deadline to Participate
The deadline to submit the questionnaire is March 8, 2024, although an extension may be requested.
List of Producers and Exporters
If you are interested in the list of Chinese producers and exporters of polyester resin, check out our legal alert on this antidumping investigation.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.