Gypsum industry news

Philippines: Knauf Gypsum Philippines has petitioned the Philippines Tariff Commission to reduce the import duty on imports of Omani gypsum to 0% of value. Currently, Oman’s gypsum enjoys a most favoured nation (MFN) reduced tariff rate of 3%. The Oman Daily Observer newspaper has reported that high gypsum wallboard demand has created short supply of gypsum in the Philippines, according to Knauf Gypsum Philippines. Beside the company’s wallboard operations, the raw material is also critical to cement production in the country.

The Philippines receives a minor share of Oman’s 8.74Mt/yr of natural gypsum exports. The Southeast Asian country has a housing backlog of 6m units.

Canada: CertainTeed Canada has welcomed the Canadian International Trade Tribunal's ruling in favour of six provinces and territories' anti-dumping measures on imports of gypsum wallboard. The tribunal found that imports of gypsum wallboard from the US threatened material injury to the domestic industries of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan and Yukon.

CertainTeed Canada chief executive officer Julie Bonamy said "CertainTeed Canada is committed to free and fair trade; we have helped shape the Canadian building products industry for more than 80 years." Bonamy concluded "We are committed to supporting our customers and employees through our facilities in Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg."

India: The government has imposed an anti-dumping duty on imports of calcined gypsum from China, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Press Trust of India newspaper has reported that the duty will remain in place for the duration of the five-year period ending on 31 December 2026. The Commerce Ministry said that the duty’s aim is to guard local suppliers against the impacts of below-cost imports in accordance with World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations.

Colombia/Mexico: Mexican gypsum wallboard producers including USG Mexico and Abasteco Maxima (Abamax) will have to pay anti-dumping duties on imports to Colombia following an investigation by the Committee on Trade Practices. USG Mexico will be required to pay a 25% tariff, Abamax will have to a pay a 7.15% tariff and all other importers will face a 42.86% tariff, according to the Sentido Común website. The government will implement the tariffs over the next two years and will then reassess the situation.

India: The government has extended an anti-dumping duty on imports of gypsum wallboard from China, Indonesia, Thailand and the UAE to protect local producers. Saint-Gobain India asked for an extension of the duty on the imports of the boards from these four countries, according to the Press Trust of India. The tariff was originally implemented in 2013 at US$73.8/m² to run until 7 June 2017. It has now been extended to 6 June 2018.

Bhutan/Bangladesh: Gypsum exports from Bhutan to Bangladesh have declined substantially after a 5% duty was levied on the mineral in July 2015.

Figures from RSA Private Limited in Phuentsholing revealed a drastic drop in the last two months. RSA exported gypsum worth US$12,049 in August 2015 and US$24,781 in July 2015. In January 2015, RSA had recorded exports worth US$111,952. RSA is the principal company that exports gypsum to Bangladesh from Bhutan. There are about four manufacturers in the country that route their gypsum to Bangladesh through RSA.

According to the bilateral trade agreement signed between the two countries, gypsum is one of the 18 products from Bhutan that is exempted from paying tax in Bangladesh. However, the new tariff schedule the government of Bangladesh published for 2015 - 2016 specified that only importers registered as a supplier for agricultural products were exempted from this tax. All other establishments that imported gypsum from Bhutan for other purposes were levied a 5% tax. Since the gypsum exported from the country is not used as fertiliser, the number of importers has decreased in Bangladesh, disrupting demand and supply. Gypsum from Bhutan is imported mostly by cement manufacturing companies in Bangladesh.

The general secretary with Bhutan Exporters Association (BEA) Tshering Yeshi said that the harmonised system code notified by Bangladesh in July 2015 contradicted the existing code as per the bilateral trade agreement. "We discussed this issue during the joint sitting customs commission meeting in July 2015," said Yeshi, adding that the representatives from Bangladesh said that they would look into the matter immediately. However, there has been no developments to date. The bilateral trade agreement between the two countries allows 90 products from Bangladesh free of tax, while 18 products from Bhutan are duty free in Bangladesh.