Likely ban by S Korea on Iranian petrochemical product imports on pressure from USA

28-Nov-11

South Korea might ban Iranian petrochemical product imports following pressure from USA to beef up sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program, as per Reuters. However, this ban is likely to have a limited economic impact as South Korea, world's fifth-largest crude importer, does not plan to ban crude imports from Iran. Petrochemicals that could be affected include butadiene, paraxylene and other intermediates produced by processing naphtha. Last year, South Korea imported US$350 mln worth Iranian petrochemicals and exported US$450 mln worth of petrochemicals to Iran. That would represent a small part of South Korea's global trade in petrochemicals, which last year totalled $49 billion. Asian countries may be willing to go along with USA’s demands to a certain extent, but energy security will always come first.