Petition Filed for New AD Duties on Superabsorbent Polymers

A domestic producer coalition filed a petition on Nov. 2 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on superabsorbent polymers from South Korea. Commerce will now decide whether to begin an AD duty investigation. The investigation was requested by the Ad Hoc Coalition of American SAP Producers, which is made up of BASF, Evonik Superabsorber and an anonymous company that appears redacted in the complaint.

SAP is a granular powder that can absorb large amounts of water and other aqueous liquids. SAP is most often used in the personal care and hygiene sector as the absorbent component of diapers and personal hygiene products. It is also employed in non-hygiene applications, such as food packaging, storage, agriculture, and civil engineering. The scope of this investigation includes all SAP that is the synthetic polymer made from polyacrylic acid, which usually takes the form of sodium polyacrylate, the petition said.

Proposed Scope

The petition proposes the following scope for the investigations:

The merchandise covered by this order is superabsorbent polymers (“SAP”), insoluble in water, which result from a polymerization of primarily acrylic acid monomer molecules (or its sodium salts) with crosslinkers to form crosslinked polymer networks, with a high capacity to absorb and retain water and aqueous liquids, originating from the Republic of Korea.

All forms and sizes of SAP, regardless of packaging type, including but not limited to granules, pellets, powder, flakes, liquid, or gel are within the scope of this order.

The scope also includes SAP that is combined, commingled, or mixed with other products. For such combined products, only the SAP component is covered by the scope of this order. SAP that has been combined with other products is included within the scope, regardless of whether the combining occurs in third countries. A combination is excluded from this order if the total SAP component of the combination (regardless of the source or sources) comprises less than 5 percent of the combination, on a dry weight basis.

Notwithstanding the foregoing language, an SAP combination that is transformed through a chemical reaction or physical process into another product such that the SAP can no longer be separated from the other products is excluded from the scope.

SAP is classified under HTSUS subheading 3906.90.5000. Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is dispositive.

Commerce Accepting Comments on Petition Support

The Commerce Department is accepting comments on domestic industry support for the petitions to determine whether the petitions meet the dual requirements of support by domestic producers or workers accounting for (1) at least 25% of the total production of the domestic-like product and (2) more than 50% of the production of the domestic-like product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the petition. If the petitions meet these requirements, among others, Commerce will initiate an antidumping duty investigation. Comments are due Nov. 22.