Major S Korea producers withdraw ADD probe petition against China SM

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–South Korean producers Hanwha Total Energies and Yeochon NCC are withdrawing their request for an antidumping probe on styrene monomer (SM) imports from China, based on a petition they filed with the Korea Trade Commission on 12 August.

The probe, which was initiated upon requests from Korean producers, has been ongoing since 9 April and was supposed to end on 8 September.

This petition withdrawal by the two companies is likely to conclude the four-month ADD investigation which have triggered significant concerns of Asian market players on a potential change in intra-Asia SM trade landscape since South Korea is China’s biggest export market for SM.

Expectations heightened in June that Korea will launch antidumping duties (ADDs) on China-origin SM after China extended its five-year ADDs on SM imports from three origins, including Korea.

KTC had held discussions and hearings in June to determine whether Chinese SM imports are causing material damage to Korea’s domestic market.

China is no longer a regular importer of Korean SM, but some market players were expecting China’s ADD extension could trigger retaliations by Korea as a political countermeasure.

Korea’s probe on SM imports from China has faced strong opposition from local end-users in downstream acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) industry which rely on feedstock from China to run their plants.

During the period of June 2023 to June 2024, South Korea accounted for around 74% of China’s total SM exports, according to ICIS Supply and Demand Database.

Although Chinese cargoes are no longer expected to be subject to Korean ADDs in near term, high logistics costs and elevated domestic spot prices in China could continue to hamper China-Korea SM talks.

Some Chinese suppliers may also continue searching for alternative markets to diversify their sales portfolio.

Focus article by Luffy Wu

Thumbnail image: At Taicang Port in China on 12 January 2024.(Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)