Page 32 - Plastics News April 2025
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COMPANY NEWS
Now Comes the Hard Part…
Policy Shifts with a New Administration
Three Major Policy Shifts est plant outside Phoenix for that very reason.
Some of this exchange already has been seen
hree things stand out as far as projected as Colombia backed off its refusal to accept mi-
policy. President Trump and the GOP are grants back into the country, and Europe has
Tcommitted to what has been described been shifting away from Russian oil and gas to-
as nationalist populism. This approach means the ward US output. In President Trump’s first term,
US will become more isolationist when it comes hundreds of exemptions were given to tariffs if
to world affairs and more protectionist when it the nations targeted agreed to US demands.
comes to the economy. This is the intent, in any
case, but making it a reality will be challenging. Global Affairs
Trade and Tariffs The second major policy shift involves US en-
gagement in global affairs. It likely is that the US
The first major shift will involve trade, where will restrict support for Ukraine and may back
President Trump asserted that he would impose away from commitments in the Middle East.
a 20% tariff on anything that was exported into There is talk about withdrawing from NATO, and
the US and a 60% tariff on goods from China. the US will not engage in most of the internation-
That is easier said than done. In his first term, al meetings. This strategy may erode, as well,
he tried to impose significant tariffs on import- because it means the US will not have a seat at
ed steel and aluminum, but by the time the plan the table when decisions are being made.
was implemented, there were exemptions for
Canada, Mexico, Europe, South Korea, Australia, The most pressing issue will be Taiwan and
Brazil, Argentina and Japan. China dodged the whether the US will back that nation if China at-
tariffs by transshipping. Countries hit by tariffs tacks. North Korea is a potential crisis point, as
retaliated with tariffs and restrictions of their well. Given how integrated Taiwan, South Korea
own. Remember when Japan struck back with and Japan are in the US economy, this will be an
a major tariff on imported bourbon to get the important set of decisions. This also could be a
attention of Mitch McConnell? It also is very pos- negotiating tactic. The US has been demanding
sible that President Trump has proposed these that Europe play a bigger financial role in NATO,
tariffs as a negotiating technique. and Ukraine and Japan have been pressured to
play a bigger role in opposing China.
Several of his allies suggest these tariffs will be
reduced or eliminated if the target nation pro- It is abundantly clear that the US needs imports,
vides something in return. This could be better as it does not produce everything required, but
access for US-made goods or promises to shift it is equally clear these nations need the US con-
production to the US. There is evidence that sumer – a wide-open opportunity to indulge in
Taiwan Semiconductor decided to build its new- negotiations. It is evident that the US will be-
32 PLASTICS NEWS April 2025
