The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Photo: VCG

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Friday announced anti-dumping measures targeting imports of propionic acid from the US following an investigation that found US dumping had inflicted harm on the Chinese chemical industry.

China's decision on Friday marks the conclusion of an anti-dumping investigation initiated in July 2023 that followed a request from the Jiangsu Chemical Industry Association and was expected to take up to one year.

Effective from Saturday, importers seeking to purchase the chemical from the US are required to remit additional deposits to Chinese customs under the deposit rate determined based on the preliminary ruling, according to MOFCOM.

The decision was announced as the US continues to threaten additional tarrifs on Chinese products, but China's move adheres to WTO rules, while the US crackdowns violate WTO rules, Chinese experts said on Friday.

In stark contrast to the US economic coercion, China's anti-dumping probe into propionic acid adhered to the WTO rules, serving the dual reasonable purpose of safeguarding the interests of Chinese companies and maintaining the trade order of the global market, Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.

On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden called for a tripling of the existing tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminum, just as the US Trade Representative (USTR) office launched another Section 301 investigation into China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors.

On Friday, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, responded to remarks made by Biden. Lin said that claims made by the US side are completely untrue and could harm China-US economic and trade relations. "China is seriously concerned and strongly dissatisfied with this," he said. "China will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its rights and interests."

The US' escalating trade probes against China are unjust provocations that risk plunging economic relations between the two countries into a vicious cycle, Xin Qiang, a deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Friday. "In fact, the US subsidizes its industries such as agriculture, semiconductors, and steel much more heavily than most other countries," Xin said.

China is a major consumer of propionic acid. According to MOFCOM, the country's total consumption in 2022 surged by 26.7 percent from 2019. The US has been a major provider of propionic acid, with China's share of imports from the US rising from 97.41 percent in 2020 to 100 percent in the first quarter of 2023.

However, the country's propionic acid imports began to decrease in 2021, while exports have gradually increased, according to media reports.

Propionic acid is an essential fine chemical product and organic synthesis raw material, primarily used in the production of preservatives, antifungal agents, herbicides, and pharmaceutical intermediates. It has extensive applications in fields such as food, feed, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals.