The U.S. Department of Commerce, through its International Trade Administration, has officially issued an antidumping duty order on certain monomers and oligomers originating from the Republic of Korea. This significant development, effective July 28, 2026, marks the culmination of an investigation that determined these Korean chemical products were sold in the U.S. market at less than fair value, harming American manufacturers.
Investigative Findings and Determinations
The Commerce Department initially published its affirmative final determination of sales at less than fair value (LTFV) for monomers and oligomers from Korea on May 27, 2026. This finding, made under sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, signaled that Korean exporters were selling these products below their normal value. Following Commerce's determination, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) independently concluded on July 13, 2026, that a U.S. industry was indeed materially injured by these LTFV imports from Korea. The ITC's affirmative injury determination was a critical prerequisite for the imposition of antidumping duties.
Scope of the Antidumping Order
The products covered by this order are specifically defined as certain multifunctional acrylate and methacrylate monomers, and acrylated bisphenol-A epoxy based oligomers. These are collectively referred to as certain monomers and oligomers or CMOs. The scope clarifies that these chemicals are derived from reactions involving acrylic or methacrylic acid. An appendix to the official notice provides a comprehensive description, including specific Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) numbers such as 109-16-0 for Triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) and 13048-33-4 for 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA), to precisely identify the affected goods.
Duty Assessment and Critical Circumstances
In accordance with federal trade law, the antidumping duty order directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess duties on unliquidated entries of the subject merchandise. These duties will be equal to the amount by which the normal value of the merchandise exceeds its export price. The assessment period for these duties officially began on January 5, 2026, the date of Commerce's Preliminary Determination.
Significantly, the ITC determined that critical circumstances do not exist regarding these imports. This finding has a direct financial impact: CBP will be instructed to lift the suspension of liquidation and refund all cash deposits for estimated antidumping duties that were collected for entries made between October 7, 2025, and January 5, 2026. This period represents the 90 days prior to the preliminary determination's publication.
Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits
Moving forward, Commerce intends to instruct CBP to reinstitute the suspension of liquidation for monomers and oligomers from Korea, effective upon the publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination in the Federal Register. Concurrently, CBP will require cash deposits from importers, equivalent to the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established in Commerce's Final Determination. These margins include a rate of 65.72 percent for Green Chemical Co., Ltd. and Green Life Science. For Miwon Specialty Chemical Co., Ltd. and Kukdo Chemicals Co. Ltd., a substantially higher rate of 155.42 percent has been applied, based on adverse facts available. An "all others" rate of 65.72 percent applies to producers or exporters not specifically listed. These requirements for suspended liquidation and cash deposits will remain in effect indefinitely until further notice.
Provisional Measures and Gap Period
The provisional measures period, which typically lasts four months but was extended to six months at the request of exporting parties, concluded on July 3, 2026. As a result, Commerce has instructed CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation and to liquidate, without regard to antidumping duties, unliquidated entries of these products from Korea that entered or were withdrawn for consumption between July 4, 2026, and the day preceding the publication of the ITC's final injury determination. This creates a specific
