WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 23, 2017) — The U.S. Department of Commerce has levied elevated preliminary antidumping duties against importers of emulsion styrene-butadiene (ESBR) rubber from Brazil, Mexico, Poland and South Korea.
The Commerce Department determination came down Feb. 17, five months after the International Trade Commission voted preliminarily that the U.S. ESBR industry is suffering material injury because of imports from the four countries. The ITC vote was 6-0.
Lion Elastomers L.L.C. and East-West Copolymers L.L.C. petitioned the ITC in July 2016, requesting antidumping relief from ESBR imports. The United Steelworkers (USW) union and the International Union of Operating Engineers support the petition, Lion Elastomers said.
The predominant use of ESBR is in making pneumatic tires, according to ITC documents.
According to the Commerce fact sheet, the agency found a dumping margin of 34.44 percent against Arlanxeo Brasil S.A., the sole mandatory respondent in the Brazilian investigation. It assigned the same margin to all other ESBR producers from Brazil.