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Brazil has approved five-year antidumping duties on polyethylene (PE) imports from the United States and Canada, maintaining them at the levels initially introduced on a provisional basis in August 2025. Although the technical findings following the investigation pointed to higher dumping margins—especially for US shipments—the Government Chamber (Camex) elected not to increase the duties. Officials explained that maintaining the lower rates was a deliberate decision to avoid placing excessive financial pressure on downstream industries that rely on plastic resins.

EVA producers and converters have certainly had hands full in recent months navigating solar trade wars and weak demand, but an actual war raging in the Middle East has turned everything upside down. Prices of all polymers, including EVA, have shot up across the globe starting from the first week of March. In North America, EVA pricing is entering a period of sharp upward movement. Prices are expected to increase by hundreds of dollars per ton in the near term, reflecting a rapid change in market dynamics. Within just two weeks, many converters have shifted from purchasing EVA on a hand-to-mouth basis, anticipating continued downward pressure seen through most of 2025, to actively securing volumes in advance to ensure supply. With Asian EVA producers unable to entertain export orders, even limited import volumes are no longer available as a backstop, contributing to further domestic supply constraints and reinforcing upward price pressure.

Escalating geopolitical tensions involving Iran and the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have quickly exposed the vulnerability of global petrochemical markets. While crude oil and LNG markets initially captured the spotlight, the consequences for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are becoming increasingly visible as feedstock flows and polymer logistics are disrupted.

Budget 2026 measures and long-term market trends are converging to make India's footwear sector one of the most compelling growth stories for EVA demand.

The rapid adoption of GLP-1 receptor agonists is reshaping food consumption patterns—particularly in the United States—while regulatory reform under the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is redefining packaging material demand across Western Europe. Together, these forces are structurally altering polyolefin markets, but in markedly different ways across regions.

India accounts for close to 7% of global HDPE demand and is perhaps the only major market growing strongly, defying odds in an industry struggling to stay afloat amid weak downstream markets, regulatory pressure, and persistently low prices. Supported by a favorable macroeconomic backdrop — with real GDP forecast to expand by 6.2% in 2025 and by 6.5% annually through 2030 — India’s HDPE consumption is expected to accelerate significantly over the second half of the decade.