Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 13 April:

Key petchem end markets most affected by US-China tariffs – UBS
Chemical end markets like agriculture, automobile and aircrafts are most likely to be impacted by the growing tensions between the US and China over trade tariffs, Swiss investment bank UBS said on Monday.

US on pace for record oil, natgas production in 2018
US crude production averaged 10.4m bbl/day in March, an increase of 260,000 bbl/day from February output levels, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Tuesday.

Yara, BASF start up US ammonia plant in Freeport
A joint venture made up of Yara and BASF started up a new ammonia plant in Freeport, Texas, the companies said on Wednesday.

US should revoke tariffs to protect chemicals, plastics trade with China – ACC
US President Donald Trump’s administration should revoke its proposed tariffs on China steel and aluminum because of potential chemical business at risk from the ongoing trade dispute, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) said on Thursday.

AFPM proposes octane standard to replace US ethanol mandate
The head of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) proposed on Friday that the US should consider moving away from an ethanol-blending standard and phasing in one that sets a minimum octane rating for gasoline.