On February 4, 2025, the US imposed a 10% tariff on imports of all products from China, which included polymers and fabricated plastic products. US imports of polymers from China are small but there are large imports of fabricated plastic products. China countered with tariffs on imports from US of LNG and other products, but not on the large volumes of polymer shipped to China from the US.
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LNG Trade Between the US and China: Tariffs, US Export Markets, China’s Import Sources
As of February 4th, 2025, the US imposed a 10% tariff on all imports from China. Part of China’s response was to levy a 15% tariff on LNG imports from the US, to go into effect February 10th. In 2024, China reported 4.3 million tons of LNG imports from US; the US reported 6.0 million tons of exports to China, a difference of 1.7 million tons.
Continue readingWestern Europe’s PE, PP, PS and PVC Trade in 2024: Key Trends, Challenges, and Regional Shifts
Weak demand, competition in export markets and imports from other regions were reflected in Western Europe’s trade in polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and PVC in 2024.
Continue readingUS Dockworkers Strike Would have Impacted Large Volumes of PE and PVC Polymer Exports
The strike begun at midnight, September 30th, by the International Longshoreman’s Association, and ended a few days later, had the potential to disrupt US polymer exports, particularly of polyethylene and PVC, particularly large volumes of which are shipped out of Houston-Galveston, Texas.
Continue readingTrends in Ethylene-alpha-Olefins Copolymers Global Trade
Global trade in ethylene-alpha-olefins copolymers (EAOC) was 14.1 million tons in 2022. ITP projects a 7% increase in global trade in 2023, to 15.1 million tons.
Continue readingTrends in LDPE/LLDPE Global Trade
Global trade in LDPE/LLDPE was 22.3 million tons in 2022. LDPE/LLDPE accounted for 33% of the 68 million tons of all grades of ethylene polymers traded globally that year.
Continue readingMajor Expansion in US Exports of Polyethylene in 2022
The US exported 11. 4 million tons of ethylene polymers in 2022, up 24% from the prior year. Shipments increased to every world region and nearly every country.
Continue readingLNG Imports from Russia into Key Global Markets
Imports of LNG into China, South Korea, Japan and UK showed different trends through May/June, 2022.
Continue readingChina’s LNG Imports were Down 21% May 2022 YTD from May 2021 YTD. Imports from US and Other Sources Fell Sharply; Qatar, Russia and Trinidad-Tobago Supplied Higher Volumes
Weak economic activity over the last several months was evident from the drop by over 3 million tons, 21%, in China’s imports of LNG through May, to 26.6 million tons.
Continue readingTrends in United States Exports of Recyclable Polymers
The US exported 557,000 tons of recyclable polymers in 2021, one-third the volume of what was shipped in 2017. In addition to a sharp decline in volume over that period, the distribution of US exports changed. Latin America and Canada now account for a greater share of the total, although Asia-Pacific remains the largest volume destination. Further declines in US exports to Asia-Pacific are likely given the decision by CMA CGM, the US’s largest shipper of these materials, to end shipments as of June 1, 2022.
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