Lion Elastomers files antidumping duty petition against ESBR imports from Czech Republic, Italy, and Russia

Geismar, LA – Lion Elastomers LLC (“Lion”), with the support of the International Union of Operating Engineers (“IUOE”) Local 564 and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC (“USW”) Local 13-228-03, has filed an antidumping Petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission to stop the dumping of emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber (“ESBR”) into the United States from Czech Republic, Italy, and Russia.

The Petition details a clear pattern of unfair pricing of ESBR from these countries that has caused material injury to the domestic industry, in the form of lost sales, decreased production volume and capacity utilization, lower profit margins, and contractions in labor force retention.

ESBR is a synthetic rubber known for its extensive use across multiple industries due to favorable wear and processability characteristics. ESBR is used primarily as an input to produce rubber tires but has additional applications in a variety of other products, including conveyor belts, shoe soles, hoses, roller coverings, and flooring.

The Petition covers grades of ESBR included in the IISRP 1500 and 1700 series of synthetic rubbers sold in all solid forms, including, but not limited to, bales, granules, crumbs, pellets, powders, plates, sheets, and strip. Specifically excluded from the Petition are ESBR grades which are manufactured by blending ESBR with other polymers, high styrene resin master batch, carbon black master batch (i.e., IISRP 1600 series and 1800 series), and latex.

Lion Elastomers LLC has filed this Petition seeking enforcement of U.S. trade laws designed to create a level playing field for U.S. producers, and to maintain manufacturing jobs in the United States. The Petition requests the imposition of remedial antidumping duties equal only to the margin of unfair pricing by foreign producers in the U.S. market. Lion has been a manufacturer of synthetic rubbers in the United States for over sixty years, and currently employs over 530 workers across its three plants in Geismar, LA, Port Neches TX, and Orange TX.