Chemicals

TORONTO (ICIS)–The government of Canada’s oil-rich Alberta is freezing the province's industrial carbon price at Canadian dollar (C$) 95/tonne ($68/tonne). The decision to freeze the price indefinitely was in response to the US tariffs, which were increasing costs, disrupting supply chains and creating uncertainty for industry, making it challenging to operate efficiently and stay globally competitive, the government said. The freeze would provide certainty and economic relief to companies in oil and gas, electricity, petrochemical, manufacturing, cement, pulp and paper, mining, and forestry, Premier (Governor) Danielle Smith and environment minister Rebecca Schulz said in a webcast press conference on Monday. Smith said that Canada could not get too far ahead of the US in terms of climate policies, otherwise “billions of dollars of investments” would go to the US, instead of Canada. Schulz added that a price above C$100/tonne would make Alberta “wildly uncompetitive.” The price had been scheduled to rise to C$110/tonne in 2026 and continue increasing to C$170/tonne by 2030 – in line with Canada’s federal industrial carbon pricing system, which sets minimum standards. Smith and Schulz said that the government would talk to companies that have been making investments in Alberta, based on industrial carbon pricing. Schulz added that she had already reached out to Dow, NOVA Chemicals and others to “signal” the government’s new direction, given that “it is a very different time that we are in right now.” “It is unfair to artificially increase a carbon tax to benefit a small amount of projects and then leave the entire rest of industry in a position where they are uncompetitive,” she said. “We can’t make the entirety of industry uncompetitive to save one specific project,” she added. Dow announced last month that it is delaying its flagship Canada Path2Zero net zero carbon cracker and downstream polyethylene (PE) project at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, until market conditions improve and would not likely revisit it until the end of this year. Trade group Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC) supports industrial carbon pricing as a tool to encourage companies to reduce emissions in a cost-effective way. However, the trade group has suggested that in light of the ongoing trade and tariff tensions, Canada may want to review its industrial carbon pricing rules. In related news, Alberta's neighboring Saskatchewan province paused its industrial pricing system, effective 1 April. ($1 = C$1.40) Additional reporting by Joseph Chang Please also visit US tariffs, policy – impact on chemicals and energy Thumbnail photo source: Dow

13-May-2025

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Corp announced on Tuesday a slate of new cost-saving measures, including job cuts of 11,000, after swinging to a net loss of yen (Y) 670.9 billion ($4.5 billion) in the fiscal year ending 31 March 2025. in Japanese yen (Y) billion 1 April 2024-31 March 2025 (FY 2024) 1 April 2023-31 March 2024 (FY 2023) % Change Net Revenue 12,633.20 12,685.70 -0.4 Operating Profit 69.8 568.7 -87.7 Net Income -670.9 426.6 Global sales stood at 3.346 million units, impacted by intensified sales competition. The latest results come after the collapse of multi-billion-dollar merger talks with rival Honda in February 2025 and follows a November 2024 announcement of 9,000 job cuts. The latest reductions will bring the total job losses at Japan's third-largest carmaker to around 20,000 in the last fiscal year. Nissan also plans to streamline its production by reducing its global plant count from 17 to 10 by 2027. Petrochemicals make up roughly a third of an average vehicle's raw material costs. The automotive industry is a crucial driver of demand for chemicals such as polypropylene (PP), nylon, polystyrene (PS), and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR). Nissan said that it expects business to "continue be challenging with intense competition, forex and inflationary pressure". "Yet, our efforts related [to] U.S. Tariff policy under our mitigation strategy, we are prioritizing US-built products, optimizing local capacity, reallocating tariff-exposed production, and working closely with suppliers to localize and adapt swiftly to market demands," the company said. "Given the uncertainty related to tariff environment, the guidance for operating profit, net income and auto free cash flow for the fiscal year are currently to be determined," it added. ($1 = Y147.9)

13-May-2025

MUMBAI (ICIS)–India has proposed to impose counter duties on select products from the US in response to American tariffs on steel and aluminium, the South Asian nation said in a notice to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 12 May. The US's tariffs on steel and aluminium were introduced as safeguard measures on 12 March 2025. India reserves the right to suspend concessions or other obligations that are substantially equivalent to the adverse effects of the measure to India's trade, India said in its statement to the WTO. “The proposed suspension of concessions or other obligations takes the form of an increase in tariffs on selected products originating in the United States,” it added. “The US safeguard measures would affect $7.6 billion imports into the US of the relevant products originating in India, on which the duty collection would be $1.91 billion,” the notice said. In April, India had sought consultations with the US under the WTO's safeguard agreement, following the US decision to impose these tariffs. On the request for consultation, the US informed the global trade body that its decision was based on national security grounds and should not be considered as safeguard measures. The US first implemented safeguard measures on imports of certain steel and aluminium products in March 2018. It imposed ad valorem tariffs of 25% and 10% respectively. This was extended in January 2020. It was revised again in February 2025 for an unlimited duration and was raised to 25%. In response, India in June 2019 imposed duties on 28 US products, including almonds, walnuts, phosphoric acid, and iron and steel products among others. The proposal assumes significance as both countries are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with an Indian official team expected to visit the US this month for trade talks. The BTA seeks to more than double bilateral trade between the two countries to $500 billion by 2030. Total goods trade between the two countries stood at around $129.2 billion in calendar year 2024, as per official data. Visit the US tariffs, policy – impact on chemicals and energy topic page for the latest update on the US-China 90-day pause with significantly reduced tariffs while negotiations take place.

13-May-2025

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asian chemical shares were mostly higher on Tuesday, after the US and China agreed to significantly reduce tariffs on each other for 90 days. At 01:30 GMT on Tuesday, Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals rose by 0.94%, while Asahi Kasei slipped by 0.54% in Tokyo. South Korean producer LG Chem was down 2.38% in Seoul. Malaysia’s PETRONAS Chemicals Group (PCG) was up by 1.71% in Kuala Lumpur, while palm oil and oleochemicals major Wilmar International rose by 0.98% in Singapore. Japan's bellwether Nikkei 225 was up by 1.84% at 38,335.75, while South Korea's KOSPI Composite inched up by 0.30% to 2,615.03. In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 2.98% at 23,549.46, and the Shenzhen Composite bourse rose by 1.70% to 2,004.13. US chemical stocks closed higher overnight following news of the trade deal. In the US-China agreement announced on 12 May, the US will lower tariffs on imports from China to 30% from the previous “unsustainable” 145%, consisting of a baseline 10% tariff on top of the 20% fentanyl-related tariff. China, meanwhile, lowered its tariffs on the US to just 10% from 125%, while also suspending non-tariff countermeasures taken against the US since 2 April. These new measures will take place by 14 May and last for 90 days, according to a joint statement by both parties. The parties will then continue discussions about economic and trade relations, the statement said. However, uncertainty persists as US President Donald Trump seeks talks with China President Xi Jinping. Meanwhile, the US' hefty "reciprocal” tariffs on other major Asian economies such as Japan, South Korea, India and southeast Asian countries – first announced on 2 April and then suspended for 90 days – may be implemented in early July. Visit the ICIS Topic Page: US tariffs, policy – impact on chemicals and energy. Thumbnail image: At the terminal of Shanghai Port in eastern China on 11 May 2025. (Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)

13-May-2025

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Several shares of chemical companies closed sharply higher on Monday after the US and China agreed to sharply reduce their tariffs for 90 days. The following table shows the major indices followed by ICIS. Index 12-May Change % Dow Jones Industrial Average 42,410.10 1,160.72 2.81% S&P 500 5,844.19 184.28 3.26% Dow Jones US Chemicals Index 822.31 17.02 2.11% S&P 500 Chemicals Industry Index 877.99 15.41 1.79% The lower rates take effect on 14 May. For the US, it will lower its 2025 tariffs on Chinese imports to 30% from 145%. The 30% tariff is made up of the 20% fentanyl tariffs that the US adopted earlier in 2025 as well as the 10% baseline tariff that the US has imposed on most of the world. For China, it will cut its 2025 tariffs on US imports to 10% from 125%. The 10% tariff matches the baseline rate that the US has imposed on Chinese imports. China also suspended the non-tariff measures that it has taken since 2 April. The agreement does not mention the tariffs that China had imposed in February on a limited number of US imports, including liquefied natural gas (LNG). Nor does the agreement mention the restrictions on antimony and other minerals that China announced in December 2024 as well as those on bismuth and other minerals announced in February 2025. Monday's pause does not change the tariffs that the two countries adopted during the first term of US President Donald Trump. Still, the agreement removes a substantial amount of tariffs, which should stimulate some trade. Fitch Ratings estimates that the effective US tariff rate fell to 13.1% from 22.8%. The following table shows the performance of the US-listed shares followed by ICIS. Name $ Current Price $ Change % Change AdvanSix 24.21 1.10 4.76% Avient 39.01 2.21 6.01% Axalta Coating Systems 32.7 1.60 5.14% Braskem 3.79 0.17 4.70% Chemours 11.99 0.93 8.41% Celanese 54.53 3.32 6.48% DuPont 71.27 4.50 6.74% Dow 30.98 1.50 5.09% Eastman 82.77 5.27 6.80% HB Fuller 57.03 2.50 4.58% Huntsman 12.93 0.88 7.30% Kronos Worldwide 7.55 0.27 3.71% LyondellBasell 60.68 3.75 6.59% Methanex 34.48 2.04 6.29% NewMarket 636.65 2.17 0.34% Ingevity 43.04 2.57 6.35% Olin 22.86 1.53 7.17% PPG 114.21 5.45 5.01% RPM International 114.27 3.74 3.38% Stepan 55.86 1.96 3.64% Sherwin-Williams 357.15 5.29 1.50% Tronox 5.77 0.52 9.90% Trinseo 2.54 0.02 0.79% Westlake 85.66 5.66 7.07%

12-May-2025

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US-listed shares of chemical companies surged on Monday after the US and China agreed to a 90-day pause on the tariffs they imposed on each other since 2 April. The lower rates take effect on 14 May. For the US, it will lower its 2025 tariffs on Chinese imports to 30% from 145%. The 30% tariff is made up of the 20% fentanyl tariffs that the US adopted earlier in 2025 as well as the 10% baseline tariff that the US has imposed on most of the world. For China, it will cut its 2025 tariffs on US imports to 10% from 125%. The 10% tariff matches the baseline rate that the US has imposed on Chinese imports. China also suspended the non-tariff measures that it has taken since 2 April. The agreement does not mention the tariffs that China had imposed in February on a limited number of US imports, including liquefied natural gas (LNG). Nor does the agreement mention the restrictions on antimony and other minerals that China announced in December 2024 as well as those on bismuth and other minerals announced in February 2025. Monday's pause does not change the tariffs that the two countries adopted during the first term of US President Donald Trump. Still, the agreement removes a substantial amount of tariffs that had brought trade between the two countries to a standstill. The following table shows the major indices followed by ICIS. Index 12-May Change % Dow Jones Industrial Average 42,132.68 883.30 2.14% S&P 500 5,805.53 145.62 2.57% Dow Jones US Chemicals Index 820.86 15.57 1.93% S&P 500 Chemicals Industry Index 876.52 13.94 1.62% PAUSE WILL RESTORE TRADE BETWEEN US AND CHINAPrior to Monday's announcement, trade between the US and China had nearly halted. The US exported large amounts of polyethylene (PE) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) to China. China, in turn, exported large amounts of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), polyether polyols and polyester fibre to the US. The following charts show the chemical trade between the two countries. China imported large amounts of chemical feedstock from the US to supply its ethane crackers and propane dehydrogenation (PDH) units. China had supposedly waived its tariffs on US imports of ethane but maintained those on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The US imported large amounts of auto parts and other goods that incorporated large amounts of plastics and chemicals. The high US tariffs on Chinese goods caused China to divert shipments to southeast Asia and other parts of the world. Those increased shipments from China displaced locally manufactured goods, leading to a chain reaction that lowered demand for the plastics and chemicals that those local manufacturers used to make those products that were now being supplied by China. US CONTINUES TO ROLL BACK TARIFFSMonday's announcement is the most recent example of the US pausing its tariffs. These started with the pause that the US adopted on the 25% tariffs it imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico. Later, it paused the reciprocal tariffs that it imposed on most of the world on 2 April. The US maintained the 10% baseline tariffs that it announced that same day. The US later announced exemptions on semiconductors and electronics. Recently it reached an agreement with the UK that lowered the sectoral tariffs that the US imposed on automobile and other specific goods. PERFORMANCE OF US CHEM STOCKSThe following table shows the performance of the US-listed shares followed by ICIS. Name $ Current Price $ Change % Change AdvanSix 24.21 1.10 4.8% Avient 38.82 2.02 5.5% Axalta Coating Systems 32.73 1.63 5.2% Braskem 3.77 0.15 4.1% Chemours 11.88 0.82 7.4% Celanese 55.30 4.09 8.0% DuPont 71.17 4.40 6.6% Dow 31.34 1.86 6.3% Eastman 82.06 4.56 5.9% HB Fuller 56.59 2.06 3.8% Huntsman 12.96 0.91 7.6% Kronos Worldwide 7.63 0.35 4.8% LyondellBasell 60.80 3.87 6.8% Methanex 34.61 2.17 6.7% NewMarket 639.35 4.87 0.8% Ingevity 41.95 1.48 3.7% Olin 22.99 1.66 7.8% PPG 113.84 5.08 4.7% RPM International 114.26 3.73 3.4% Stepan 55.99 2.09 3.9% Sherwin-Williams 357.86 6.00 1.7% Tronox 5.78 0.53 10.1% Trinseo 2.62 0.10 4.0% Westlake 86.18 6.18 7.7% Thumbnail shows stock charts. Image by Shutterstock

12-May-2025

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Freight rates from China to the US are likely to rise in the near term now that a 90-day pause on extreme tariffs has been negotiated, but in the longer term, it is likely rates will continue the downward trend seen prior to the “Liberation Day” announcement, according to shipping industry analysts. Peter Sand, chief analyst at ocean and freight rate analytics firm Xeneta, said politicians on all sides will argue over who has won, who has lost and who has the better deal, but the most important point is that we will now see goods flowing more easily between the world’s biggest trading nations. “The spiraling trade war was catastrophic for businesses, so there will be huge relief that diplomacy appears to be returning,” Sand said. Judah Levine, head of research at online freight shipping marketplace and platform provider Freightos, said rates will rise, but not explode. “The volume rebound will probably signal the start of an early peak season that will keep rates elevated – but we might not see last year’s $8,000+/FEU highs due to a more competitive, well-supplied carrier landscape already keeping rates lower year on year," Levine said. Levine said he expects tighter capacity as carriers work to reposition vessels and reduce the number of blank sailings that were used to support rates during the height of the tariff war. Sand agreed, noting that carriers responded to falling volumes from China to the US by slashing container shipping capacity and redeploying it onto other trades, such as the Asia to Europe route. “It takes time to shift capacity back again, so a revival in volumes from China to US may mean shippers have to pay a little over the odds in the short term,” Sand said. Lars Jensen, president of consultant Vespucci Maritime, said to expect an immediate surge of cargo from China to the US, based on two reasons: first, there is already a large amount of cargo ready to go, as US importers have been adopting a "wait-and-see" strategy over the past month and abstained from shipping cargo which is already ready. Second, the 90-day pause expires in the middle of the usual peak season for holiday-related goods going to the US. “We should therefore expect a possible pull-forward of cargo creating a shorter, sharper, peak season from basically right now,” Jensen said. US ports were already beginning to see fewer vessels arriving or scheduling arrivals because of the trade war, but Jensen said the 90-day pause could lead to a swift change. “With the expected surge in cargo, we should also expect that the US ports which are right now facing a massive drop in cargo volume will switch to face a surge of cargo with a substantial risk of bottleneck issues and delays as a consequence,” Jensen said. Average spot rates are down by 56% and 48% from China to the US West Coast and US East Coast, respectively, since 1 January, despite an uptick of 18% and 12% on 1 April, according to Xeneta data. Rates have fallen slightly since then but remain elevated compared with the end of March. Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which are shipped in pellets. They also transport liquid chemicals in isotanks. Visit the US tariffs, policy – impact on chemicals and energy topic page Visit the Logistics: Impact on chemicals and energy topic page

12-May-2025

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 9 May. INSIGHT: Mexico’s automotive tariffs raise specter of recession, rest of LatAm more resilient Mexico remains the potential largest victim of the change in US trade policy, but practically no country in the world would be spared from an impact, analysts said this week. US Celanese to cut rates if demand falters further in increasingly 'uncertain' H2 – execs Celanese will aim to weather what is becoming an increasingly “uncertain” second half of 2025 by reducing inventories and keeping firm cost controls, but also by reducing operating rates if demand is not there, the CEO at the US-based acetyls and engineered materials producer said on Tuesday. Braskem-Idesa launches its ethane import terminal in Mexico Braskem-Idesa (BI) officially launched the Terminal Quimica Puerto Mexico (TQPM) on Wednesday, according to a notice from the company. US-UK announce trade deal to open up markets for chemicals, ethanol, agriculture, autos, steel and aluminium, aircraft The US and UK announced the first trade deal since the US 2 April ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs which would open up UK market access for US chemicals, machinery, beef, ethanol and other agricultural products, government officials said. Canada’s Pembina assures on US tariffs and Path2Zero delay Pembina Pipeline does not expect material near-term impacts from the US tariffs or from the delay of Dow’s Path2Zero petrochemicals project in Alberta province, the top executives of the Canadian midstream energy company told analysts in an update on Friday.

12-May-2025

LONDON (ICIS)–Click here to see the latest blog post on Chemicals & The Economy by Paul Hodges, which looks at Apple’s dilemma on how to deal with the trade tariff war. Editor’s note: This blog post is an opinion piece. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of ICIS. Paul Hodges is the chairman of consultants New Normal Consulting.

12-May-2025

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–The US and China have agreed to de-escalate trade war with sharp cuts on tariffs by 14 May 2025, for an initial period of three months, according to a joint statement issued on Monday by the world’s two biggest economies. The statement was a result of a two-day closed-door discussions between officials of the two sides in Geneva, Switzerland over the weekend. The US will suspend the 24% tariffs on Chinese goods for 90 days, while retaining the remaining ad valorem rate of 10% announced on 2 April.  Tariffs announced on 8 April and 9 April will be removed. On China’s side, Beijing will lower its tariffs on US imports to 10% and suspend the 24% duties for 90 days, with other charges to be scrapped. Additionally, China will adopt all necessary administrative measures to suspend or remove the non-tariff countermeasures taken against the US since 2 April 2025. After taking these actions, the parties will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations, the statement said. Visit the ICIS Topic Page: US tariffs, policy – impact on chemicals and energy.

12-May-2025