With the United States and United Kingdom entering formal trade negotiations on May 5, representatives from the U.S. and UK chemical industries today published joint comments outlining their priorities for a comprehensive free trade agreement. In addition to the comments, American Chemistry Council (ACC) President and CEO, Chris Jahn, and Chemical Industries Association (CIA) Chief Executive, Steve Elliott, issued the following statement:
“For the U.S. chemical sector, free trade agreements are fundamentally about opening new markets and maximizing the speed and efficiency of our innovations across borders,” said ACC President and CEO, Chris Jahn. “Our industry is considered essential to efforts to support global health, safety, and sustainability. A U.S.-UK trade agreement presents an opportunity to leverage the highly integrated and efficient nature of our chemical manufacturing supply chains while creating more coherent regulatory frameworks to bring chemistry solutions to the communities that need them the most.”
“With the uncertainty swirling around Brexit and the COVID-19 crisis, a trade agreement between the UK and the U.S. will help ensure both countries maintain critical market access during this unprecedented and challenging time,” added Steve Elliott, Chief Executive of CIA. “We also encourage trade ministers to focus on facilitating greater innovation to help solve global challenges like population growth and growing demand for food, water, and healthcare. By delivering a regulatory framework that works for both nations and incentivizing research and development, a trade agreement could enable new, sustainable products to support better, healthier, more circular societies.”
U.S.-UK Chemicals Trade: Economic Summary
- U.S.-UK chemicals trade totaled $5.3 billion in 2019. The chemical industry is the UK’s largest exporter of manufactured goods.
- The UK imported $2.8 billion in U.S. chemicals in 2019. U.S. imports of chemicals from the UK were $2.5 billion during that time.
- A significant portion of the $5.3 billion in U.S.-UK chemicals trade is to related parties – 63 percent of chemical imports from the UK, and 38 percent of chemical exports.
- A trade agreement that eliminates U.S. tariffs on chemical imports from the UK could save U.S. chemical manufacturers $76 million per year. Eliminating UK tariffs on chemical imports from the U.S. would reduce tariffs paid in the U.K by $84 million.