Trade in chemicals

Trade in chemical substances, many of which may be potentially harmful, is of course international, and the application of the products of the chemicals industry is essentially global. Main sectors of use include ... 

Developments to Date. It often has been stated that the basic policy objective of efforts to harmonize the U.S. and European laws is the achievement of consistent and effective protection of health and the environment. However, economic considerations — in particular, the avoidance (or minimization) of non-tariff trade barriers — constitute the principal force behind virtually all of these multilateral efforts. The trade in chemicals and chemical products constitutes a significant part of the overall trade between Western industrialized nations. Specifically, the U.S. enjoys a favorable balance in its chemicals trade, and this is particularly significant given the current recession. Thus, any unnecessary barriers to this trade may impose substantial burdens upon certain segments of the American chemical industry, and may constitute violations of the international General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). 

Trade patterns for chemical products differ markedly from those of overall trade. Countries like China and Taiwan, for example, which have large surpluses in their overall trade accounts, have sizeable deficits in their trade in chemicals. The United States and Britain, on the other hand, have large trade deficits overall, but trade surpluses, or at least somewhat balanced trade flows in chemicals. 

Smoother international trade in chemicals and manufactured goods... 

By ship in a range of carriers of different types and sizes. This is particularly relevant to the international trade in chemicals. 

Given the reality of the extensive global trade in chemicals, and the need to develop national programs to ensure their safe use, transport, and disposal, it was recognized that an internationally-harmonized approach to classification and labelling would provide the foundation for such programs. Once countries have consistent and appropriate information on the chemicals they import or produce in their own countries, the infrastructure to control chemical exposures and protect people and the environment can be established in a comprehensive manner. 

Commercial trade in chemical celluloses is assisted by the definition of standard methods of analysis. Extensive collections of quality-defining protocols have been assembled by ISO, the International Standards Organization ASTM, the American Society for Testing Materials TAPPI, the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (of USA) DIN (German Industrial Norms) and many others. 

This imbalance of trade in chemicals has come about not only because certain commodity petrochemicals produced in the United States are now less competitive globally, as a result of higher natural gas costs, but also because such Asian countries as China and India have now become substantial, reliable exporters of specialty chemicals and pharma intermediates. 

Figure 3.3. U.S. balance of trade in chemicals (1989-2004). (Source Kevin Swift, American Chemistry Council, presentation to CDMA meeting 28 April 2003.)...

Foreign trade in chemicals is influenced greatly by trade tariffs. A tariff is a charge imposed by a government on imports and occasionally on exports. Free-market economists strongly oppose tariffs, but they are a fact of life and are imposed for the following reasons ... 

Given that the EU has expanded to include many of the Central and Eastern European states and that international trade in chemicals will continue to increase, it is reasonable to expect that the EU requirements for toxicity information on both existing and new chemicals will come to be applied to an increasing extent around the world. 

Other in )ortant pieces of Europ n legislation on controlling trade in chemicals that contribute to the framework for regulating chemical risks in die EU ... 

Facilitate international trade in chemicals whose hazards have been properly assessed and identified on an international basis... 

However, historically, it has not been very innovative and the considerably negative balance of trade in chemicals is growing rapidly. 

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