US caustic soda importers are expected to be able to circumvent new fees on Chinese built or owned vessels scheduled to be imposed this fall.
Offshore caustic soda imports to the US are primarily shipped on vessels that fall within the list of exemptions provided by the US Trade Representative last week, including those with capacities less than or equal to 55,000 deadweight tonnes (dwt) and specialized vessels for liquid chemical transportation.
The US is a net exporter of caustic soda, with only 3-5pc of total domestic supply supplemented by imports, according to census bureau data collected by Global Trade Tracker (GTT) and the latest estimates from Argus Chlor-Alkali Analytics. East Asia exporters are critical suppliers to west coast consumers, but domestic importers anticipate most vessels carrying caustic soda to the west coast to be exempt from fees based on ship sizes less than 55,000dwt.
US caustic soda importers have faced several new regulations and policies this year increasing the cost of business, with established trade lanes facing reshaping.
President Donald Trump's baseline 10pc tariff on most trade partners is expected to strengthen demand for US Gulf coast-produced caustic soda, especially from east coast importers vying to source less from EU producers. West coast distributors, though, are expected to continue importing from East Asia suppliers and pass along tariff-related expenses to end users.
Additionally, west coast importers earlier this year imposed a $15/dry short ton (dst) line-item charge to customers following the rollout of The California Air Resources Board (CARB) emissions control requirements for tanker vessels at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The newly-enforced regulation requires shippers to limit in-berth greenhouse gas emissions by connecting to shore power or utilizing a CARB Approved Emission Control Strategy (CAECS).
