US chem shares surge on tariff pause

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 CHINA
Prior 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 TARIFFS
Monday’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 STOCKS
The following table shows the performance of the US-listed shares followed by ICIS.

Name	$ Current Price	$ Change	% Change
AdvanSix	24.21	1.10	4.8%
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%

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