The U.S. intends to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Japan and South Korea, and the aromatic hydrocarbon supply chain faces impact.

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The Trump administration intends to impose a 25% tariff on Japanese and Korean goods, or a severe impact on U.S. aromatic imports, forcing companies to find alternative suppliers or bear higher costs.

The United States recently proposed a 25% tariff on imports from Japan and South Korea, a move that could have a significant impact on the U.S. aromatics market. Given that South Korea is the largest source of imports of aromatics and base oils to the United States, industry experts warn that this will lead to significant supply chain disruptions.

Tariff Implementation Schedule

president Trump announced via social media that the tariffs will take effect on August 1, but they will not apply to goods that have already been subject to tariffs, including aluminum, steel and automobiles. The U.S. government also plans to impose higher tariffs on goods transshipped through Japan and South Korea, after the U.S. has already imposed a 40 percent tariff on goods transshipped from Vietnam.

South Korea's Strategic Position in Aromatics Supply in the United States

south Korea dominates the U.S. aromatics import market and is the leading supplier of benzene, toluene and mixed xylenes (MX), as well as the second largest source of paraxylene (PX). These important petrochemicals are by-products of refinery operations or naphtha cracking processes, and it is difficult for U.S. companies to achieve domestic production without major infrastructure investments in new refineries or crackers.

Expected market impact

the proposed tariffs could force U.S. importers to find alternative low-cost suppliers or incur additional costs, which could lead to production cuts in various downstream industries. Given the interconnectedness of petrochemical supply chains, the ripple effects could be particularly severe.

Main aromatic hydrocarbons and their industrial applications

benzene it is the key raw material for the production of intermediates such as cumene and styrene. Cumene can be further processed into phenol and acetone, which are important raw materials for polycarbonate and methyl methacrylate, respectively. Styrene is used in the manufacture of polystyrene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer resins and styrene-butadiene rubber.

Toluene and mixed xylenes it is mainly used as a solvent or gasoline octane number improver. The mixed xylenes can be further refined into ortho-xylene and para-xylene (PX), where PX is one of the two main raw materials for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

These proposed tariffs represent a major shift in U.S. trade policy that could reshape the global aromatics market landscape and force U.S. manufacturers to reassess their supply chain strategies.

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