China's Commerce Ministry Imposes Preliminary Anti-Dumping Measures on Japanese Silicon Tetrachloride Imports

China's Ministry of Commerce announced preliminary findings in its anti-dumping investigation into imported dichlorodichlorosilane from Japan, concluding that the products were dumped, China's domestic dichlorodichlorosilane industry suffered material injury, and there was a causal link between the dumping and the injury. According to Jiemian News, the investigating authority said it will impose temporary anti-dumping measures in the form of deposits under Articles 28 and 29 of China's Anti-Dumping Regulations. The article said dichlorodichlorosilane is a key silicon-based specialty gas used in semiconductor CVD processes, silicon epitaxy and polysilicon film growth, and is also applied in photovoltaic passivation coating and organosilicon chemical synthesis. It added that the move could improve the competitive environment for domestic producers and support price recovery and market-share gains. Jiemian News also cited Open Source Securities as saying that if dumping is confirmed, anti-dumping duties could raise import costs and accelerate substitution by domestic electronic specialty gas makers.