Page 48 - Plastics News November 2018

internAtionAL news

US plastics trade surplus shrinks in 2017

pparent U.S. consumption of plastics goods grew in is enormously beneficial to the U.S. plastics industry,
A2017, even as the industry's trade surplus declined by and thus enormously beneficial to the nearly 1 million
nearly $2 billion. The increase in consumption — a measure workers it employs."Pineda said U.S. plastics employment
of overall demand that includes domestic shipments, is stable."Employment in plastics is projected to remain
minus exports, plus imports — was 6 percent, according to stable, with increases largely a function of labor supply.
the annual Global Trends report, released Oct. 31 at the While U.S. manufacturing is more automated today than
2018 Global Plastics Summit in Chicago. The report, which in previous years, [a] higher degree of automation can be
analyzes trade data from 2017, "paints a complex and expected in the years to come as artificial intelligence
ultimately positive portrait" of the U.S. plastics industry, and enhanced connectivity become more common,"
according to the Washington-based Plastics Industry Pineda said. Pineda acknowledged that, looking ahead,
Association. The 2018 report "again shows that the U.S. the U.S. trade war with China may have an impact on U.S.
plastics industry continues to innovate its way into new resin exports. "If you look at U.S. exports of polymers of
applications and new markets where even more consumers ethylene to China last year, it was about $854.5 million —
that's 5 percent of China's total imports. China imposing
higher import duties on U.S. PE would increase the cost
and potentially reduce U.S, share in the Chinese market,"
Pineda said.For the first time, this year's report includes
a ranking of every nation's plastics industry. Association
officials described the ranking as "a tool that Plastics
[Industry Association] members can use to identify
new markets and areas where U.S. plastics companies
can meet the unique demands of both developed and
developing countries." The global ranking was based on
trade volume and placed the United States in the No.
can benefit from these versatile, lightweight materials and 2 position at $122.2 billion, trailing China at $146.5
products," said President and CEO Bill Carteaux. billion. Germany placed third at $115.9 billion. There
was a wide gap between Germany and Belgium, which
The U.S. plastics industry's $2.9 billion surplus for 2017
was down from the $4.8 billion surplus posted in 2016. came in fourth at $49.5 billion. France rounded out the
The 2015 surplus had been $7.1 billion. Officials said the top five at $47.4 billion. Officials said that despite the
2017 decline was the result of a 9 percent increase in uncertainty of the renegotiation of the North American
plastics-related imports, which they described as "another Free Trade Agreement, Mexico and Canada remained the
sign of strong demand" in the United States. As in previous U.S. plastics industry's strongest trading partners in 2017.
years, the resin sector accounted for the entirety of the U.S. plastics companies exported $15.7 billion to Mexico
U.S. plastics industry's trade surplus. Resin had a surplus and $12.5 billion to Canada for the year. Pineda said new
of $17.4 billion in 2017; plastics products had a deficit of rules of origin for motor vehicles, in the proposed United
$10.9 billion; mold making had a deficit of $1.5 billion, States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, could be a positive
and machinery had a deficit of $2 billion. for the plastics industry."With Mexico and Canada as our
largest plastics export market, the higher North American
Plastics Industry Association Chief Economist Perc Pineda content requirement for autos could increase plastics
said the shrinking trade surplus "shows how in-demand industry exports," Pineda said.
the products and services of plastics are in the United
States." "Our estimates show that in 2017 the plastics On the subject of tariffs, they added that if trade tensions
industry global trade volume increased 9.5 percent remain unresolved, the U.S. plastics industry's exports
from 2016," he said in the release. "Free and fair trade "would be negatively affected both directly and indirectly."

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