U.S. to impose duties on sodium nitrite from Russia

MOSCOW. July 28 (Interfax) - The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has determined that imports of sodium nitrite from Russia are hurting local producers of this substance, the regulator said in a press release.

The ITC's affirmative determination means that duties on imports of sodium nitrite from Russia previously approved by the U.S. Commerce Department will be imposed for five years.

The Commerce Department published a final decision on antidumping and countervailing duties on sodium nitrite from Russia in June, determining that this product is subsidized. The amount of the subsidy for UralChem, the only producer of sodium nitrite in Russia, as well as other Russian exporters within the context of the countervailing probe was determined to be 386.24%. The dumping margin is 207.17%.

The investigation into sodium nitrite imports from Russia was begun based on a petition from Chemtrade Chemicals US, a local producer of this substance.

Sodium nitrite is used in production of dyes and synthetic rubber, in heat treating salts to harden metals, in treating metal ports in the auto and aircraft industries, as an as an antifreezing agent in the construction industry, as well as a heat transfer medium in thermal energy storage for large air conditioning systems or industrial refrigeration units. In the food industry, it is used as a preservative and color stabilizer (food additive E250).