MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Plastics Industry Association on behalf of 67 companies urged US Congress to drop the inclusion of a 20 cent/lb tax on virgin plastic resin in the USD3.5tr budget reconciliation package, said the organization.
In the letter sent to both chambers of Congress, major plastic producers raised concerns about increased costs to the entire plastic industry chain and reduced US manufacturing competitiveness. Among the companies signing the letter were Chevron Phillips, Eastman, Epsilyte, ExxonMobil, Formosa, LyondellBasell, NOVA Chemicals, SABIC, Shell and Westlake Chemical.
The group of companies argued that while they are committed to increasing the amount of recycling resin, the proposed tax ignores the supply constraint that it would cause due to limited recycled resin supply, especially for food-grade packaging.
Legislators have not yet fully vetted the proposed tax with the regular legislative process, which includes expert analysis and public debate. The letter signed by major chemical companies follows another similar letter sent to Congress last week from 23 trade associations.
The revenue from the REDUCE Act’s proposed 10 cent/lb tax for 2022 would have gone into the creation of a Plastic Waste Reduction Fund to implement initiatives to reduce plastic waste and improve recycling rates. Now, the 20 cent/lb tax is one of several options highlighted by the US Senate Finance Committee to pay for the budget reconciliation bill.
The proposals could likely need to be developed further before being included in any legislation, as the details of the spending bill continue to be discussed.
As per MRC, Eastman is increasing capacity for its Naia-brand cellulosic filament yarn at its plant in Barcelona, Spain. Eastman is increasing its capacity to produce Naia cellulosic filament yarns at its plant Barcelona, by 30% by mid-2021, and by more than 50% by the end of 2022.
As per MRC's ScanPlast, Russia's consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to Belarus) decreased by 14% and reached 62,000 tonnes in January-August 2021 against 72,100 tonnes in the same period of 2020. 13,500 tonnes of PC were consumed for the production of injection moulding products in Russia over the stated period, down by 29% year on year, whereas the last year's figure was 10,500 tonnes.
The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) is the only organization that supports the entire plastics supply chain, representing nearly one million workers in the $395 billion U.S. industry. Since 1937, PLASTICS has been working to make its members and the industry more globally competitive while advancing recycling and sustainability.
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