Although not definite, a ban on imports of synthetic rubber from Russia is being discussed by the EU. If enacted, this could impact EU imports of butadiene, isoprene and styrene-butadiene rubber.

Russia stopped publishing trade statistics soon after the invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s exports, however, are largely visible from trading partner import statistics. These indicate sizable imports into EU of these synthetic rubbers:

Butadiene Rubber – China, Turkey and India were among the leading importers, volumes from Russia up sharply through November 2022 versus the same period in the prior year. In the EU, Romania, Poland and Hungary were leading importers.

Isoprene Rubber – China and Turkey were among the leading importers, both with higher volumes from Russia YTD. In the EU, Poland and Romania were leading importers.

Styrene-Butadiene Rubber – China and Turkey were, again, leading importers, both importing higher volumes from Russia. In the EU, Poland was the top importer.

From International Trader Publications World Trade Analyses on synthetic rubbers.