Mexico launches ESBR dumping probe

Akron, Ohio - The Mexican Ministry of Economy announced 10 Aug that it was initiating an investigation of alleged ESBR dumping in the Mexican market by producers from South Korea, Poland, Japan and the US.

Korea and Poland were two of the four countries – along with Brazil and Mexico – named in the US anti-dumping investigation which begun in August 2016.

On 11 July, the US Department of Commerce assigned a final dumping margin of 19.52% against Mexican ESBR imports. The other countries in the investigation were assigned antidumping duties as follows:

• Brazil, 19.61%;
• Korea, 9.66% for LG Chem Ltd., 44.3% for Daewoo International Corp. and Kumho Petrochemical Co. Ltd.; and
• Poland, 25.43%.

US Customs and Border Protection already has begun collecting cash deposits in these amounts from ESBR importers from the four countries.

On 3 Aug, the ITC voted 2-2 in a final determination of material injury to the US ESBR industry caused by import sales of less than fair value. A tie vote in the ITC signifies an affirmative vote.

Industrias Negromex, Mexico's only ESBR producer, filed its anti-dumping petition 11 April, with the Ministry of Economy.

According to Negromex, the scope of the investigation refers to SBR rubbers that have 22.5 to 62.5% butadiene by weight.

These are classified within the 1500 series (non-extended cold polymerized polymers), 1700 (extended cold polymers with oil), and 1900 (high styrene) as defined by the numerical system of the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers, the company said.

The scope of the investigation could be extended to include ESBR imports from other countries, Negromex said. The Ministry of Economy has not set any preliminary determination or hearing dates, it said.

Negromex's petition for dumping relief was not motivated by the US investigation, according to the company.

"Both investigations are completely independent," a company spokeswoman said. "We have been tracing imports that are traded at less than fair value for several years now in Mexico, especially after the expiration of dumping duties that Mexico had against Brazil."

There have been ESBR dumping investigations in India and Brazil as well as the US, the Negromex spokeswoman said.

"The only difference between all these cases is that the ESBR trade changes in the U.S. were a result in production disruptions and changes in ownership that caused uncertainty in the market, and this, we think, was reflected in the split vote of the ITC," she said.