Petition Filed for New AD Duties on ESB Rubber

A domestic producer filed a petition Nov. 15 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber from the Czech Republic, Italy and Russia. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD duty investigations. The investigation was requested by Lion Elastomers.

Any AD duty orders issued in connection with these investigations would follow AD duty orders issued in 2017 on ESB rubber from Brazil, Korea, Mexico and Poland.

Proposed Scope

The petition proposes the following scope for the investigations:

The products covered by this investigation is cold-polymerized emulsion styrenebutadiene rubber (“ESB rubber”). The scope of the investigation includes, but is not limited to, ESB rubber in primary forms, bales, granules, crumbs, pellets, powders, plates, sheets, strip, etc. ESB rubber consists of non-pigmented rubbers and oil-extended non-pigmented rubbers, both of which contain at least 1% of organic acids from the emulsion polymerization process.

ESB rubber is produced and sold in accordance with a generally accepted set of product specifications issued by the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers (IISRP). The scope of the investigations covers grades of ESB rubber included in the IISRP 1500 and 1700 series of synthetic rubbers. The 1500 grades are light in color and are often described as ‘‘Clear’’ or ‘‘White Rubber.’’ The 1700 grades are oil-extended and thus darker in color, and are often called ‘‘Brown Rubber.’’

Specifically excluded from the scope of this investigation are products manufactured by blending ESB rubber with other polymers, high styrene resin master batch, carbon black master batch (i.e., IISRP 1600 series and 1800 series) and latex (an intermediate product).

The products subject to this investigation are currently classifiable under subheadings 4002.19.0015 and 4002.19.0019 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). ESB rubber is described by Chemical Abstract Services (CAS) Registry No. 9003–55–8. This CAS number also refers to other types of styrene butadiene rubber. Although the HTSUS subheadings and CAS registry number are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of these investigations 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 by Nov. 29.