(Yicai Global) Oct. 29 -- China will impose anti-dumping duties on ethanolamine from the US, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Thailand starting Oct. 30 after finding that cheap mass imports of these have inflicted substantial damage on the domestic ethanol industry, China's commerce ministry announced today.

The ministry decided last Oct. 30 to investigate the dumping and its impact on domestic industry and the extent of damage it wreaks, as well as the causality between the dumping and the damage.

In its decision of June 16, 2016, the ministry declared the existence of the dumping and substantial damage to China's Ethanolamine industry, as well as a cause-and-effect relationship between them.

Duty rates of anti-dumping tax varies for Ethanolamine from different countries. Dow Chemical products are levied at 76 percent while those of INEOS Americas, and Huntsman Petrochemical and other US companies are hit with a 97.1 percent tariff.

Products of Saudi Basic Industries have a 10.1 percent duty, with the impost for other Saudi Arabian companies being 27.9 percent .

Products of Petronas Chemicals Derivatives and Petronas Chemicals Marketing (Labuan) are levied at 18.3 percent, and rate of duty for other Malaysian companies is 20.3 percent.

A 37.6 percent duty is imposed on TOC Glycol and other Thai companies.

Ethanolamine (EA) finds wide application, but is mainly used to produce emulsifiers, cloth dyes, anti-corrosives, antifreeze, pesticides, medicines and personal hygiene products as well as a host of others, public information shows.

Editor: Ben Armour