2nd Anti-dumping Duty This Year
The United States Department of Commerce recently decided to impose anti-dumping duties on emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (ESBR) exported from South Korea to the United States. Last month, the same measure was taken against dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP) exported from South Korea to the United States.
The preliminary determination made at this time is from the suit filed in July last year by American chemical companies such as Lion Elastomers and East West Copolymer against ESBR exported from South Korea, Brazil, Poland and Mexico. ESBR, which is a type of synthetic rubber, is mainly used for tire manufacturing.
At present, LG Chem and Kumho Petrochemical are exporting ESBR to the United States and they are likely to face an anti-dumping duty of 11.63% and 44.3%, respectively. The tariff rates to be applied to Brazilian, Polish and Mexican companies are estimated at 59.3% to 69.4%, 40.4% to 44.8% and 23.2%, respectively.
The final determination is to be made 75 to 135 days after the Department of Commerce decides to impose preliminary duties. Then, importers have to deposit cash equivalent to the tariff rates even before the final determination.
According to the Korea International Trade Association, a total of 137 anti-dumping measures were effective against South Korea as of the end of last month, up 24.5% from a year ago. For reference, the number had increased by only one between January 2015 and January 2016.