There will be no short-term impact on the European styrene market from possible anti-dumping duties on Chinese imports of styrene from South Korea, sources said on the sidelines of the European Petrochemical Luncheon in Dusseldorf.
China's Minister of Commerce Monday issued an official notice for an investigation and potential imposition of anti-dumping duties on styrene imports from South Korea, after Chinese producers filed a petition.
Imposing such duties could change trade flows in the medium to longer term, but there will be no short-term impact, a trader source said.
It usually takes over a year for a full investigation and conclusion to be issued.
In the medium to long term, however, it could change regional trade flows, but not necessarily global trade flows, the trader said.
China may seek product from Japan or producers in Southeast Asia or the Middle East instead of South Korea.
South Korean producers may export product to Japan and this product could be re-exported to China if Japan cannot consume all the stock, he said.
Other sources were sceptical about imposing anti-dumping duties as China is net short on styrene and therefore heavily reliant on imports, at least for the next two to three years.
A second source said the duties could hamper downstream industries in China, which would be counter-intuitive for the Chinese industry as a whole.
South Korea is the largest exporter of styrene monomer to China, shipping 1.23 million mt of styrene in 2016, or 35% of China's styrene imports.
The anti-dumping duties could lead to more exports to China from other countries outside of Asia, according to sources.
The US is structurally net long styrene and is a major exporter to both Asia and Europe.
Europe is structurally net short and relies on imports, mainly from the US and Russia. In 2016, Europe imported 450,000 mt of styrene, of which 280,000 mt, or 62%, came from the US.
