In 2024, Mexico and Canada together received more than half of all U.S. plastic scrap exports and provided about 30% of PET resin imports, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. | Hxdyl/Shutterstock
U.S. President Donald Trump was set to implement 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, effective Feb. 4, then delayed them, creating a rapidly changing trade landscape that furthered uncertainty in the plastics recycling industry. Continue Reading
Effects from proposed tariffs against Mexico and Canada could include market consolidation favoring larger firms that can absorb added costs. | Menzl_Guenter/Shutterstock
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a two-part series taking a closer look at the potential effects of threatened tariffs on recycled commodity markets. Read the previous installment here, on what trade flows are most likely to be affected. Continue Reading
If threatened tariffs against Mexico and Canada are implemented, trade volumes of U.S. plastic scrap could be impacted. | HuguetteRoe/Shutterstock
Although the potential effects – or even the likelihood – of threatened U.S. tariffs on Mexico and Canada are yet unknown, they’ve focused attention on the trade dynamics among the North American neighbors, including in post-consumer plastics.
For the first nine months of 2024, recovered plastic exports remained steady year over year, marking a change from multiple years of annual declines in export volume. | Qingqing/Shutterstock
For the first nine months of 2024, recovered plastic exports remained steady year over year, marking a change from multiple years of annual declines in export volume. Continue Reading
Recovered plastic exports out of the U.S. totaled 481 million pounds in the first half of the year, up about 1% from 475 million pounds during the same period in 2023. | Menzl_Guenter/Shutterstock
More than half the recovered scrap plastic that left the U.S. during the first half of 2024 stayed in North America, as Canada and Mexico continued to be the largest buyers of U.S. material. Continue Reading
U.S. exporters shipped 234.6 million pounds of scrap plastic to other countries during the first three months of the year, on par with what was exported during the same period in 2023. | Aaron Jacobs/Shutterstock
More than half of the scrap plastic that left the U.S. in the first quarter of the year stayed in North America, recent export figures indicate. Continue Reading
Recovered plastic exports out of the U.S. have dropped dramatically in recent years, hitting a new low in 2023. | EG/Shutterstock
Recovered plastic exports out of the U.S. dropped slightly in 2023, bringing a record low for the fourth consecutive year. Continue Reading
During the first nine months of 2023, exports of scrap plastic from the U.S. to Mexico dropped 9% year over year. | Quiggyt4/Shutterstock
The U.S. continued to export less scrap plastic to the rest of the world, according to an analysis of trade data covering the first nine months of 2023. Continue Reading
Canada remains the top destination for U.S. exports of plastic bales, taking in 10% more of them this year than it did in 2022. | StockStudio/Shutterstock
Exports of recovered plastics fell during the first six months of 2023, newly released federal trade statistics show. Continue Reading
Europe’s PET imports doubled from 2021 to 2022. | Aykut Erdogdu/Shutterstock
Could minimum recycled content mandates for PET bottles simply drive an increase in RPET imports? A recycling industry group in Europe is concerned that’s happening there. Continue Reading