HOUSTON (ICIS)--Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 3 May.
Besieged by
imports, Brazil’s chemicals put hopes on hefty
import tariffs hike
Brazilian chemicals producers are lobbying hard
for an increase in import tariffs for key
polymers and petrochemicals from 12.6% to 20%,
and higher in cases, hoping the hike could slow
down the influx of cheap imports, which have
put them against the wall.
US manufacturing
falls back into contraction in April, prices
rise
Economic activity in US manufacturing
contracted in April after expanding in
March, according to the Institute of Supply
Management’s (ISM) latest purchasing managers’
index (PMI) survey released on Wednesday.
SABIC Q1 net
income falls 62%, warns of industry
overcapacity
SABIC's net income fell by 62% year on year to
Saudi Riyal (SR) 250 million in the first
quarter amid a drop in prices and sales
volumes, the chemicals major said late on
Wednesday.
US TiO2 producer
Kronos to shut down production via sulfate
process in Varennes, Canada
Kronos Worldwide, a titanium dioxide (TiO2)
producer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, US is
planning to permanently shut down sulfate-based
production at its location in Varennes, Quebec,
Canada.
US Huntsman
assets in Europe spare from energy hit, but EU
policies erratic – CEO
Huntsman’s assets in Europe are not energy
intensive and have been spared from the energy
crisis, but more broadly, the 27-country EU is
still lacking a comprehensive policy to address
the issue, the CEO at US chemicals major
Huntsman said on Friday.