Japan to Begin Antidumping Probe on S. Korea, Taiwan Plastic Material

   Tokyo, Aug. 20 (Jiji Press)--Japan will launch an investigation into whether it needs to impose antidumping duties on bisphenol A, a raw material for plastics, imported from South Korea and Taiwan, the finance and industry ministries said Wednesday.
   In principle, the ministries will complete the investigation within a year.
   The targeted material is used to make products such as polycarbonate resin and epoxy resin.
   In June, two major Japanese chemical makers, Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. and Mitsui Chemicals Inc., asked the government to impose antidumping duties on bisphenol A from South Korea and Taiwan, claiming that they are sold in Japan at unfairly low prices and have caused damage to the domestic industry.
   The companies said that imports from the two East Asian neighbors rose sharply between April 2021 to September 2024. Their prices in Japan have been consistently lower than those of local products, forcing domestic producers to lower their prices and preventing them from setting their prices at levels reflecting rising production costs, the firms added.

(2025/08/20-15:18)