- The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) International Trade Commission (ITC) has found industry complaints to be valid in the anti-dumping case against Indian, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and Indonesian ceramic tile imports, the ITC announced in a statement on Monday.
- Since 2016, the market share for ceramic tiles imported from the four countries has grown from 25.9% to 38.2%, while the market share for domestic products decreased from 58% to 44.3%.
- The four countries’ imports have increased over the years, and the first quarter of 2021 saw a growth of 61.3% as compared to the first quarter of 2020
- ITC said that prices for the imported goods continuously shrunk by 12%, 6.1%, and 3.4% from 2017 to 2019, leading to a growth rate of over 8% in import volumes in 2018 and 2019, the first quarter of 2021, prices for products from the four countries fell again, and import volume increased sharply, deeply hurting domestic products and leaving only a 1% return on investment.
- According to UDN, Taiwan Ceramic Industries Association (TCIA) said Taiwanese ceramic businesses were left with no choice but to submit the case against dumping in 2020, as many suffered losses or were unable to survive under the unfair competition, adding that it is tricky for consumers to differentiate the quality of ceramic tiles.
- It is tricky for consumers to differentiate the quality of ceramic tiles; therefore, they should select reputable brands and products that have official certification rather than select purely based on price.
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