EU ready to impose tariffs on US polymers despite recent pause

HOUSTON (ICIS)–The US delay of its proposed 50% tariffs on EU imports will still leave its polymers vulnerable to retaliatory tariffs.

The new deadline is 9 July.

For US exports, the EU has already drafted a list of targets for retaliatory tariffs, part of its second round of €95 billion in tariffs on US imports. A full list of all the proposed imports can be found here.

This is on top of the first round of €21 billion in tariffs on US imports. A full list of all the proposed imports can be found here.

In all, the EU could impose tariffs on nearly every major polymer from the US, including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

The EU is also considering tariffs on US imports of surfactants, fatty acids, fatty alcohols, and tall oil, a feedstock used to make renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable naphtha.

The following table lists some of the many plastics and chemicals proposed on the EU’s second round of tariffs.

CN CODE	DESCRIPTION
28151200	sodium hydroxide “caustic soda” in aqueous solution “soda lye or liquid soda”
29053926	butane-1,4-diol or tetramethylene glycol [1,4-butanediol] having a bio-based carbon content of 100% by mass
29091910	tert-butyl ethyl ether (ethyl-tertio-butyl-ether, etbe)
29152100	acetic acid
29153200	vinyl acetate
29291000	isocyanates
32061100	pigments and preparations based on titanium dioxide of a kind used for colouring any material or produce colorant preparations, containing >= 80% by weight of titanium dioxide calculated on the dry matter (excl. preparations of heading 3207, 3208, 3209, 3210, 3212, 3213 and 3215)
32061900	pigments and preparations based on titanium dioxide of a kind used for colouring any material or produce colorant preparations, containing < 80% by weight of titanium dioxide calculated on the dry matter (excl. preparations of heading 3207, 3208, 3209, 3210, 3212, 3213 and 3215)
34023100	linear alkylbenzene sulphonic acids and their salts
34023990	anionic organic surface-active agents, whether or not put up for retail sale (excl. linear alkylbenzene sulphonic acids and their salts, and aqueous solution containing by weight 30-50% of disodium alkyl [oxydi(benzenesulphonate)])
34024100	cationic organic surface-active agents, whether or not put up for retail sale
34024200	non-ionic organic surface-active agents, whether or not put up for retail sale (excl. soap)
34024900	organic surface-active agents, whether or not put up for retail sale (excl. soap, anionic, cationic and non-ionic)
34025010	surface-active preparations put up for retail sale (excl. organic surface-active preparations in the form of bars, cakes, moulded pieces or shapes, and organic surface-active products and preparations for washing the skin in the form of liquid or cream)
38030010	crude tall oil
38030090	tall oil, whether or not refined (excl. crude tall oil)
38170050	linear alkylbenzene
38170080	mixed alkylbenzenes and mixed alkylnaphthalenes, produced by the alkylation of benzene and naphthalene (excl. linear alkylbenzene and mixed isomers of cyclic hydrocarbons)
38231100	stearic acid, industrial
38231200	oleic acid, industrial
38231300	tall oil fatty acids, industrial
38231910	fatty acids, distilled
38231930	fatty acid distillate
38231990	fatty acids, industrial, monocarboxylic; acid oils from refining (excl. stearic acid, oleic acid and tall oil fatty acids, distilled fatty acids and fatty acid distillate)
38237000	fatty alcohols, industrial
38260010	fatty-acid mono-alkyl esters, containing by weight => 96,5 % of esters “famae”
38260090	biodiesel and mixtures thereof, not containing or containing < 70 % by weight of petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. fatty-acid mono-alkyl esters containing by weight >= 96,5 % of esters “famae”)
39013000	ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, in primary forms
39019080	polymers of ethylene, in primary forms (excl. polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene-alpha-olefins copolymers having a specific gravity of < 0,94, ionomer resin consisting of a salt of a terpolymer of ethylene with isobutyl acrylate and methacrylic acid and a-b-a block copolymer of ethylene of polystyrene, ethylene-butylene copolymer and polystyrene, containing by weight <= 35% of styrene, in blocks of irregular shape, lumps, powders, granules, flakes and similar bulk forms)
39021000	polypropylene, in primary forms
39023000	propylene copolymers, in primary forms
39029010	a-b-a block copolymer of propylene or of other olefins, of polystyrene, ethylene-butylene copolymer and polystyrene, containing by weight <= 35% of styrene, in blocks of irregular shape, lumps, powders, granules, flakes and similar bulk forms
39029020	polybut-1-ene, a copolymer of but-1-ene with ethylene containing by weight <= 10% of ethylene, or a blend of polybut-1-ene with polyethylene and/or polypropylene containing by weight <= 10% of polyethylene and/or <= 25% of polypropylene, in blocks of irregular shape, lumps, powders, granules, flakes and similar bulk forms
39031100	expansible polystyrene, in primary forms
39031900	polystyrene, in primary forms (excl. expansible)
39032000	styrene-acrylonitrile copolymers “san”, in primary forms
39033000	acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers “abs”, in primary forms
39039090	polymers of styrene, in primary forms (excl. polystyrene, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymers “san”, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene “abs”, copolymer solely of styrene with allyl alcohol, of an acetyl value of >= 175 and brominated polystyrene, containing by weight >= 58% but <= 71% of bromine, in blocks of irregular shape, lumps, powders, granules, flakes and similar bulk forms)
39041000	poly”vinyl chloride”, in primary forms, not mixed with any other substances
39042100	non-plasticised poly”vinyl chloride”, in primary forms, mixed with other substances
39042200	plasticised poly”vinyl chloride”, in primary forms, mixed with other substances
39051200	poly”vinyl acetate”, in aqueous dispersion
39051900	poly”vinyl acetate”, in primary forms (excl. in aqueous dispersion)
39052100	vinyl acetate copolymers, in aqueous dispersion
39052900	vinyl acetate copolymers, in primary forms (excl. in aqueous dispersion)
39053000	poly”vinyl alcohol”, in primary forms, whether or not containing unhydrolyzed acetate groups
39061000	poly”methyl methacrylate”, in primary forms
39071000	polyacetals, in primary forms
39072911	polyethylene glycols, in primary forms
39072920	polyether alcohols, in primary forms (excl. bis(polyoxyethylene) methylphosphonate and polyethylene glycols)
39072999	polyethers in primary forms (excl. polyether alcohols, polyacetals and copolymer of 1- chloro-2,3-epoxypropane with ethylene oxide)
39073000	epoxide resins, in primary forms
39074000	polycarbonates, in primary forms
39075000	alkyd resins, in primary forms
39076100	poly”ethylene terephthalate”, in primary forms, having a viscosity number of >= 78 ml/g
39076900	poly”ethylene terephthalate”, in primary forms, having a viscosity number of < 78 ml/g
39079110	unsaturated liquid polyesters, in primary forms (excl. polycarbonates, alkyd resins, poly”ethylene terephthalate” and poly”lactic acid”)
39079190	unsaturated polyesters, in primary forms (excl. liquid, and polycarbonates, alkyd resins, poly”ethylene terephthalate” and poly”lactic acid”)
39079980	polyesters, saturated, in primary forms (excl. polycarbonates, alkyd resins, poly”ethylene terephthalate”, poly”lactic acid”, poly”ethylene naphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylate” and thermoplastic liquid crystal aromatic polyester copolymers)
39089000	polyamides, in primary forms (excl. polyamides-6, -11, -12, -6,6, -6,9, -6,10 and -6,12)
39091000	urea resins and thiourea resins, in primary forms
39092000	melamine resins, in primary forms
39093100	poly”methylene phenyl isocyanate” “crude mdi, polymeric mdi”, in primary forms
39094000	phenolic resins, in primary forms
39095010	polyurethane of 2,2′-“tert-butylimino”diethanol and 4,4′-methylenedicyclohexyl diisocyanate, in the form of a solution in n,n-dimethylacetamide, containing by weight >= 50% of polymer
39095090	polyurethanes in primary forms (excl. polyurethane of 2,2′-“tert-butylimino”diethanol and 4,4′-methylenedicyclohexyl diisocyanate, in the form of a solution in n,ndimethylacetamide)

Source: EU

CN CODE	DESCRIPTION
39011010	linear polyethylene with a specific gravity of < 0,94, in primary forms
39011090	polyethylene with a specific gravity of < 0,94, in primary forms (excl. linear polyethylene)
39012010	polyethylene in blocks of irregular shape, lumps, powders, granules, flakes and similar bulk forms, of a specific gravity of >= 0,958 at 23°c, containing <= 50 mg/kg of aluminium, <= 2 mg/kg of calcium, of chromium, of iron, of nickel and of titanium each and <= 8 mg/kg of vanadium, for the manufacture of chlorosulphonated polyethylene
39012090	polyethylene with a specific gravity of >= 0,94, in primary forms (excl. polyethylene in blocks of irregular shape, lumps, powders, granules, flakes and similar bulk forms, of a specific gravity of >= 0,958 at 23°c, containing <= 50 mg/kg of aluminium, <= 2 mg/kg of calcium, of chromium, of iron, of nickel and of titanium each and <= 8 mg/kg of vanadium, for the manufacture of chlorosulphonated polyethylene)
39014000	ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymers, having a specific gravity of < 0,94 , in primary forms
39081000	polyamides-6, -11, -12, -6,6, -6,9, -6,10 or -6,12, in primary forms

Source: EU