The South African government has lowered import duties on many plastics by a further 1.3 percentage points. Imported volumes of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) would be subject to duties of 2.5% from 1 January 2010, falling from the 3.8% bench that was set in August 2009, when import duties were reduced from 10%. The reasons behind the further reduction were unclear, although a key trader in the region said: “The reduction brings South African import rates in line with other regions in a preferential trade agreement. The government wants to stimulate some international investment.” The source added: “There will be no impact on the market, but local producers will come under further pressure to adjust prices if they want to remain competitive.” However, it was widely reported that domestic producers would be unable to lower prices further as margins were already unsustainable. （ICIS) 南非政府再次调低了塑料的进口税，从1月开始，PE,PP,PVC的进口税从2009年8月的3.8%调低到2.5%。调低的原因尚不清楚。但有贸易商称，此举是因为政府想刺激些国际投资，对市场基本没有影响，但是如果当地生产商想继续拥有竞争力的话，调价就比较难了。而且据报道，当地生产商已无法再降价了，几乎没有利润了。