Plastics Europe comments on EU tariffs on US products

Around 26 billion euros. This is the estimated value of the tariffs that the European Union will impose from 1 April as a trade countermeasure to those recently introduced by the Trump administration. The EU has planned a two-step response: from 1 April, old measures will be reinstated to compensate for tariffs already applied by the first Trump administration between 2018 and 2020 on a range of US products, including boats, motorbikes and spirits, worth around 8 billion euros. Then, from mid-April, a new package of tariffs on industrial and agricultural products, including plastics, worth a further 18 billion euros, will come into force.

The inclusion of plastics in the tariffs to be decided by Brussels caused immediate concern for Plastics Europe, the European plastics manufacturers' association, whose managing director, Virginia Jannsens, said that “Plastics Europe acknowledges the EU’s decision to potentially impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods in response to the recent increase in U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium. While we understand the EU’s need to safeguard its economic interests, we emphasise the importance of maintaining the principles of free and fair trade that are so important to fostering global economic stability and growth”.

But, Jannsens continued, “the imposition of tariffs, particularly on industrial goods such as plastics, will disrupt supply chains, raise costs for businesses, and negatively impact consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. The United States remains a major trade partner for the European plastics sector: in 2023, 11.7% of extra-EU exports of plastics went to the US (valued at 3.4 billion euros); 22.2% of extra-EU imports of plastics came from the US (valued at 5.3 billion euros)”.

“As a key stakeholder in the European plastics industry, we urge both the EU and US to prioritise diplomatic solutions to avoid escalating trade tensions further. We support the EU’s openness to negotiation, as reiterated by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and call for collaborative efforts to resolve this dispute in a manner that protects industry, jobs, and consumers in both the US and Europe”, the managing director added.

“Plastics Europe remains committed to engaging with policymakers to advocate for trade policies that ensure mutual economic growth and support our ambition in advancing our plastics Transition Roadmap in Europe. Plastics Europe will closely monitor and further evaluate with its membership the potential impact of these tariffs on the European plastics industry”, Virginia Janssens concluded.