Page 36 - Plastics News July 2017

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

US Industry says Canada discriminates against certain plastic

parts

ashington-based Plastics Industry Association the trade agreement does not
Wlargest plastics industry trade association in the guarantee export sales
United States wants renegotiations over the NAFTA to or a balanced trade,
examine challenges for U.S. firms in Canada and Mexico there seems to be a
and it singles out Canada for particular attention. The discrimination against
Association said in comments filed as part of the U.S. certain U.S. plastics
government's NAFTA renegotiation that there may be products, which we feel
"discrimination of entry of plastic products into the should be looked into."
Canadian market" for a limited set of goods. "U.S. The group said that if
businesses continue to face challenges doing business with the United States had
Canada and Mexico," the association said. "In particular, exported the same value
the NAFTA modernization negotiations must address the of those 30 products to Canada, it would have meant
seemingly inaccessible parts of the Canadian market for 42,000 additional U.S. jobs. The filing does not provide
some plastic products which places the U.S. plastics details about how the 30 products are being discriminated
industry and the U.S. economy at a disadvantage." In its against.
filing to the Office of the U.S.
The Canadian Plastics Industry Association declined to
Trade Representative, the association singled out 30 comment. CPIA President Carol Hochu said that she plans
resins and plastic products as problematic in the Canadian to meet with U.S. and Mexico plastics industry officials for
market, including various kinds of self-adhesive plates, general discussions on NAFTA, and that she would respond
after that. The U.S. association said that in 2016, the U.S.
plastics industry had a $12.26 billion trade surplus with
Mexico and a $1.15 billion surplus with Canada. It noted,
however, chronic U.S. deficits in machinery and molds with
Canada, offset by larger surpluses in resins and products.
With Mexico, the U.S. plastics industry has consistently
had surpluses in all four of the major segments of the
plastics industry.

"While U.S. trade relations with Mexico in plastics have
been positive since the creation of NAFTA, U.S. trade
relations with Canada have been less than favorable,
particularly prior to January 2008 when all tariffs and
knobs and some acrylics and polyurethanes. Association quotas were eliminated on U.S. exports to Mexico and
Chief Economist Perc Pineda said that since NAFTA started Canada under NAFTA," the association said.
in 1994, the United States has exported $8.1 billion worth
of those 30 products to Mexico. The group said its member companies support NAFTA
but would like to address technical and non-tariff trade
To Canada, by contrast, the filing said value of the same barriers, including inconsistent regulatory regimes,
product exports was $0. "The discrimination of entry different machinery safety codes in each country and
of plastic products listed into the Canadian market is lack of transparency in Mexican and Canadian government
an unfair trade practice and has no place under a free rulemakings on importing requirements.
trade agreement," the association said. "While a free

Plastics News | July 2017 36