President Donald Trump's April 2 reciprocal tariff plan appears to exempt imports of some plastic resins, including polyethylene, polypropylene and PET, in a possible sign that the U.S. government wants to keep export-oriented plastic resins off other countries' retaliation lists.
Various grades of plastic resin were in an annex of roughly 1,000 products that the Trump administration said "shall not be subject" to the duties.
The list also included nylons, polytetrafluoroethylene, polylactic acid and grades of PVC.
A Canadian plastics association said it welcomed the exemption of some plastic resins as “a recognition of the importance of integrated North American supply chains” but remained concerned about economic harm from the tariffs overall.
“While this exemption is a positive step, we are aware of the fluidity of these tariff decisions and these exemptions do not mitigate the broader challenges tariffs have introduced for manufacturers, suppliers, and downstream industries,” said Greg Moffatt, president and CEO of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada.
“CIAC remains concerned about the lasting economic implications and urges policymakers to prioritize trade stability to ensure North America's chemistry and plastics sector remains competitive,” he said. “These new tariffs broadly disrupt supply chains, increase costs, and introduce instability into a sector that depends on long-term planning and regulatory consistency.”
U.S. plastic resin had a healthy $23.8 billion trade surplus in 2023, partly due to the cost advantages of shale gas feedstock, according to a 2024 report from the Plastics Industry Association.
Perhaps as a result, other countries and regional trading blocs have listed U.S. plastics exports as possible retaliation targets.
The European Union, for example, identified $5.9 billion in U.S. plastic resin and product exports as subject to possible duties, in its response to new Trump administration steel and aluminum tariffs. About 15 percent of U.S. PE production was sold to EU countries last year.
As well, early lists of Canadian countermeasures in news reports identified plastics as a retaliatory target.
Data from the plastics association said the U.S. had a $7.7 billion surplus in resins with Mexico and a $4.4 billion surplus with China. Other industry sectors — products, molds and machinery — all had global trade deficits.
The American Chemistry Council did not comment in detail but said it would examine the administration's executive orders. It said the chemical sector had a $28 billion surplus in 2024, supporting 200,000 jobs.
"ACC will be reviewing these announcements in greater detail to determine how they affect the U.S. chemical industry," the association said. "ACC wants to work constructively with the administration on a pro-growth trade agenda that decreases America's supply chain vulnerabilities while negotiating new measures that benefit domestic production and jobs.
"Together, we can advantage U.S. based production and exports by addressing unfair trading practices and expanding science-based regulatory approaches that will continue to grow our competitiveness," ACC said.
In an April 3 statement, the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates did not comment on the exemptions but said its members are "confronting significantly higher costs for the raw materials they rely on — inputs often unavailable at scale within the U.S."
"These sudden shifts are occurring in the context of complex, global supply chains and long-standing customer commitments," SOCMA said. "We urge the administration to take a strategic, sector-informed approach — one that ensures affordable input access, promotes resilient supply chains, and leverages the unique value of the specialty chemical sector."