On the evening of April 3, 2024, Beijing time (morning of April 3, Washington time), the U.S. Epoxy Resin Producers Ad Hoc Coalition announced the filing of antidumping and countervailing duty petitions against China, India, South Korea, Taiwan Province of China and Thailand. Olin Corporation and Westlake Corporation, two representative members of the Coalition, allege that unfairly traded imports of certain epoxy resins from the subject countries are causing material injury to domestic producers.
For China, however, these antidumping and countervailing duty petitions will have little impact on China, because the U.S. is not a major consumer of China's epoxy resins in global markets, and most of China's domestic demand is being met by domestic producers.
U.S. Imports of Epoxy Resins from China
Source: OilChem
Recent data shows that China's epoxy resin exports to the U.S. remain limited in quantity, at only 3,000-5,000 tonnes, accounting for 3%-4% of China's total exports.
From 2019 to 2023, China's epoxy resin exports to the U.S. presented a rising-to-falling curve, and averaged at 3,300 tonnes, accounting for only 3.35% of China's total epoxy resin exports. But in 2021, when extreme cold weather curbed the U.S. domestic production of epoxy resins, China's epoxy resin exports to the country recorded a historical high of 5,900 tonnes.
In global markets, demand for epoxy resins is strong and thriving, thus significantly boosting China's epoxy resin exports. In recent years, China has emerged as the global leader in epoxy resin production and sales, as more domestic producers enter the market and product quality improves, leading to increased use of domestically made products. Against this backdrop, China's epoxy resin exports have soared.
Top 10 Importers of Epoxy Resins from China
Source: OilChem
According to OilChem data, China's annual export volume of epoxy resins climbed to 172,800 tonnes in 2023 from 48,100 tonnes in 2019, and Russia, Thailand and Italy were the country's key trade partners.
In 2023, Russia imported 29,800 tonnes of epoxy resins from China, accounting for 27% of China's total exports, setting a historical record. The main reason is the lack of epoxy resin production capacity in Russia, failing to meet their prosperous demand for epoxy resins amid economic growth. Additionally, considering geopolitical factors, traders in Europe and America are not optimistic about the trade environment in Russia, so Russia turns to China, leading to a year-on-year increase in its epoxy resin exports from China.
Over the next five years, China will still have several new epoxy resin units coming on stream, exacerbating the domestic supply-demand imbalance. Chinese epoxy resin manufacturers and traders will actively develop overseas markets to secure more trade orders. In this case, the outlook for exports remains positive.
Written by Todd Zhu, todd@oilchem.net
Edited by Navy Liu, liuchuanjun@mysteel.com