Supply Chain Research

The U.S. has determined that Chinese exports of refrigerant R-134a were dumped into the U.S. market, and has applied tariffs of 149%. Imports fell to negligible levels in December and fourth quarter imports from all suppliers were 86% lower than the second quarter peak. There was a one-off spike in shipments in January from one of the Chinese manufacturers, TT International. That may have been made on the assumption the tariffs wouldn’t be applied. Non-Chinese suppliers including Dupont and Fluor can now expand their market share.