US places import duties on South Korean ESBR

Washington – South Korean exporters dumped emulsion-styrene-butadiene rubber (ESBR) in the US from September 2018 to August 2019, the US Department of Commerce ruled.

The decision means the companies now are subject to import duties of 44.3%.

Enforcement and Compliance International Trade Administration in the commerce department issued a final ruling 23 Oct in the case after coming out with preliminary findings 1 July.

A total of seven South Korean companies are impacted by the ruling, including LG Chem Ltd., Daewoo International Corp., Hyundai Glovis Co., Kukje Trading Corp., Kumho Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Sungsan International Co. Ltd. and WE International Co. Ltd.

LG Chem, after the initial ruling this summer, told the Commerce Department it would not participate in a review of the case. No one submitted comments following the preliminary results, the administration said.

At issue is the price of cold-polymerised ESB rubber in primary forms, bales, granules, crumbs, pellets, powders, plats and sheets strip, the federal government said. 

ESBR includes non-pigmented rubbers and oil-extended non-pigmented rubbers that contain at least 1% organic acids from the emulsion polymerisation process.

Not included in the ruling is the blending of ESB rubbers with other polymers, high-styrene resin master batch, carbon black master batch and latex.

Commerce officials determined that there was a dumping margin of 44.3% during the period in question. 

This means all the companies will be required provide a cash deposit of 44.3%, equal to the dumping margin established in the final results, on imports of the material.

"The following cash deposit requirements will be effective for all shipments of ESB rubber from Korea entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the final results of this administrative review," according to a notice in the Federal Register.

This is the second time Commerce has levied import duties on the material being imported from South Korea.

The ITA determined in 2017 the US synthetic rubber industry was injured by imports of emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber from Brazil, South Korea, Mexico and Poland being sold at less than fair value. Antidumping duty orders ranged from 9.66 to 44.3% in that case.

ESBR is used predominately in car and light truck tires and truck tire retread compounds, according to the federal government. 

The material also used in a variety of other products, including conveyor belts, shoes, hoses, roller coverings and flooring.