30 November 2010 07:25 [Source: ICIS news]
HO CHI MINH (ICIS)--The Vietnamese government is considering imposing an import duty on polyethylene (PP) and polypropylene (PP) to protect its local industry, a source at energy and petrochemical major PetroVietnam said on Tuesday.
Discussions between PetroVietnam and the local government on the proposed import duty were in the early stages, the source said.
“The import duty may range from three to five percent,” he said, adding such a duty would create a more conducive environment for future investments in expanding the country’s PE and PP capacity.
However, it was unclear if Vietnam’s obligations as a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) would permit such a duty to be imposed on PE and PP imports, he said.
Vietnam’s sole PP plant, which has a 150,000 tonne/year capacity, was started up in late August this year. The unit is operated by PetroVietnam’s subsidiary Binh Son Refinery (BSR) and is located at Dung Quat industrial park in Quang Ngai province.
The Vietnamese government currently does not impose any import duties on PE and PP imports.
Other key southeast Asian players, such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, do not impose import duties on PE and PP imports from members of The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
However, a 5-20% duty is levied on PP and PE imports from non-ASEAN members.
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