Glycine import from India, China hurting US industry

Import of glycine from India, China, and Japan is hurting the US industry as the product is sold at less than fair value in America, a federal trade body has claimed.

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) said it had determined the US industry was materially injured by imports of glycine from India and Japan.

It also determined that glycine was sold in the US at less than fair value and imports that are subsidised by the governments of China and India.

As a result of the USITC's affirmative determinations, US Department of Commerce will issue antidumping duty orders on imports of this product from India and Japan and countervailing duty orders on imports of it from China and India, an official statement said on Wednesday.

USUITC Chairman David Johanson and Commissioners Irving Williamson, Meredith Broadbent, Rhonda Schmidtlein and Jason Kearns voted in the affirmative, according to an official statement.

US import of glycine from China, India, and Japan in 2017 was valued USD 18.6 million. Its import from Thailand was USD 4.6 million and from all other sources was USD 480,000.

China, India, Japan, and Thailand are the leading source of import of glycine.

Glycine, also known as amino acetic acid, is a nonessential amino acid. The organic chemical is produced naturally by humans and other organisms as a building block for proteins.

Commercial production of glycine uses traditional chemical synthesis. Glycine is commonly sold in its dry form as a white, free-flowing powder.

Available in various grades, glycine is used in industrial applications, as well as pharmaceutical and food applications.