European chemical industry losing competitiveness, action needed now

Cefic launched its competitiveness study confirming and emphasising the severity of the situation for the EU chemicals industry; over 11 million tons of capacity have already been announced to be closed for 2023-2024, affecting 21 major sites. By delving into the current state of the European chemical industry and its competitiveness on the global stage, this report reinforces the Antwerp Declaration through a wealth of data and comparative illustrations. The European chemical industry is at a breaking point.

“For the sake of our industry and the 1.2 million of workers it directly employs, we need bold and urgent action today. Lowering energy costs, ensuring access to critical raw materials, and fostering innovation are absolutely critical. If our industry falls, entire value chains fall with it: healthcare, automotive, renewable energy, and the breakthrough Green Deal technologies that are essential for the transition. We say it again, louder and clearer: for the future of Europe, we need our new EU decision makers to act now”, Marco Mensink, Cefic’s Director General, declared.

The competitiveness study, commissioned to Advancy, explores how the EU chemical industry compares competitively with the USA, China, Japan, Brazil, India and the Middle East, and which are the main cost and non-cost drivers for competitiveness in Europe. It concludes that the competitive position of our industry – a fundamental building block of everyday life – has weakened on both cost and non-cost factors varying from high energy, environmental and regulatory costs to administrative hurdles around innovation and human capital. The latter often resulting in delayed investments or decisions to invest outside of Europe.