Assessment Of Turkey's Anti-Dumping Policy Effects: China's PS Exports Show Strong Resilience

[Introduction] On November 12, 2025, the Turkish Ministry of Trade issued Announcement No. 2025/37, making a positive final determination on anti-dumping against polystyrene originating from Mainland China, Taiwan, India, South Korea, Russia, and Thailand. The decision is to impose anti-dumping duties on the CIF value of the involved products for a period of five years (see attached table). The general-purpose polystyrene tax rate for Mainland China is 7.37%, while the tax rate for high-impact polystyrene is currently unavailable. The measures will take effect from the date of the announcement.

China's PS production capacity is rapidly growing, and companies are accelerating their export pace.

In recent years, China's PS production capacity has rapidly increased. With the release of new capacity, high production of medium and high-end materials and integrated units, domestic production will see a significant increase by 2025, repeatedly reaching record highs. On one hand, the trend of domestic materials replacing imported materials continues, while on the other hand, companies are also accelerating their export efforts. From 2021 to 2025, China's PS export volume is expected to increase from 68,000 tons to 320,000 tons, with a compound growth rate of 47%.

Trade patterns are changing, and starting in 2023, China's PS export volume to Turkey has rapidly increased.

According to China's PS export destinations, Vietnam, Thailand, Turkey, Russia, India, and Egypt rank among the top, with Vietnam consistently holding the top position. Turkey has experienced rapid growth since 2023, which is also highly correlated with the downward trend in export prices from 2023 to 2025. According to customs statistics, the average export price of GPPS in 2023 and 2025 is 1152 USD/ton and 1131 USD/ton, respectively, representing a decrease of 37.7% and 38.8% compared to 2021, marking a five-year low. From 2021 to 2025, China's export volume to Turkey increased from 0.2 million tons to 1.4 million tons (estimated), reflecting a growth rate of 600%.

It is reported that Turkey's downstream PS factories mainly import from Mainland China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Due to Turkey's anti-dumping measures against polystyrene originating from Mainland China, Taiwan, India, South Korea, Russia, and Thailand, the tax rate for general-purpose polystyrene from Mainland China is 7.37%, while the rate for high-impact polystyrene is not yet available. The tax rate for general-purpose polystyrene from Taiwan ranges between 7.56% and 19.96%, while the rate for high-impact polystyrene ranges between 16.12% and 25.51%. The tax rate for general-purpose polystyrene from South Korea ranges between 3.5% and 8.09%, and the rate for high-impact polystyrene, except for Kumho, is 11.22%. The rate for India ranges between 12.96% and 20.34%. The rate for Russia is 20%, and the rate for Thailand is 16.98%.

Affected by anti-dumping tax rates, the PS costs from the aforementioned sources have increased to varying degrees. Turkish downstream factories may turn to purchasing from European and local Turkish polystyrene factories. Since high impact polystyrene from China, Korea (Kumho), India, Russia, and Thailand is not yet within the scope of anti-dumping, exports of high impact polystyrene from these countries and regions to Turkey are not affected by anti-dumping measures. Based on this estimation, China's export volume of high impact polystyrene to Turkey in 2025 may reach 14,000 tons. Since China's export share of general-purpose polystyrene is relatively low, the actual impact on China's exports to Turkey is quite limited.

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