July 21, 2016  -  Today, American producers of emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (“ESBR”) with the support of their labor unions, filed an antidumping petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission, to stop producers in Brazil, Korea, Mexico and Poland from dumping ESBR into the United States.  The petition shows a pattern of extremely low and unfair pricing by imports from these countries that have seriously injured U.S. manufacturers and their workers, through lost sales and lost jobs.

The manufacturers supporting the petition are Lion Elastomers of Port Neches, Texas and East West Copolymer of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  The International Union of Operating Engineers and the United Steel Workers are supporting the petition. 

The petition covers ESBR grades in the IISRP 1500 and 1700 series.  ESBR is used primarily in the production of tires, but it is also used in a variety of other products, including conveyor belts, shoe soles, hoses, roller coverings, and flooring.

The industry filed this petition seeking enforcement of U.S. trade laws in order to level the playing field for U.S. producers and maintain jobs in the United States.  Under U.S. law, the petitioners seek the imposition of antidumping duties to offset the margin of unfair pricing by foreign producers in the U.S. market.  The estimated dumping margins for imports from these countries range from 30 to 80 percent.