United States, global exports

The estimated growth rate to the year 2000 for total MDI is 4—5% in the United States and 6% globally. In 1987 and 1988 U.S. plants were estimated to be 96 and 97% utilized (39). Additional capacities of over 400,000 t by the end of 1993 have already been announced (40—44). Approximately 20% of the total MDI manufactured in the United States is exported (38,39,45). Of the 500,000 t of PMDI mixtures manufactured annually in the United States it is estimated that only 75,000—100,000 t are sold as 4,4LMDI. The current bulk selling price for 4,4 -MDI is 2.75/kg and for PMDI 2.20. The 4,4 MDA sells for 5.00—6.50/kg and cmde PMDA is 2.90—3.25/kg. Approximately 450—900 t of pure 4,4 -MDA are imported (46,47), MDA and PMDA products are sold commercially imder the names of MDA (BASF), Araldite Hardener (CIBA-GEIGY), Curithane (Dow), Ancamine (Pacific Anchor), andTONOX (Unicoyal). 

The United States was a net exporter in the 1980s except for 1984—1986 when it was a net importer. This reversal resulted from a number of conditions including the global recession, foreign relationships, new overseas capacity especially in Japan and South Africa (which in 1988 was the largest exporter to the United States), and the increase in other countries of the ratio of phenol production to acetone demand (45). 

Economics and politics also intersected in Whitehall s perception in 1956 of the Soviet Union as a threat to Britain s share of international trade. In May of that year, when arguing that Britain could not afford a policy of perfection in defence, Eden noted that there was evidence that the Russians intended to concentrate on industrial exports. In order to be able to meet this competition, part of the burden placed on British industry by defence orders must be reduced, so as to release resources for civil production. In present circumstances, he said, economic failure was a more serious risk than global war, and defence plans had to be adjusted to this revised political assessment. He added that a recent report from the ambassador in Washington showed that President Eisenhower was thinking along the same lines.The Russians made no secret of their intentions. In November 1957 Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, declared in a visit to the United States in the peaceful field of trade we declare a war. The threat to the United States is not in the intercontinental ballistic missile but in the field of peaceful production. We are relentless in this and will prove the superiority of our system. ... 

Rendering is a global industry with markets throughout the world. Table 1 outlines the global import and export of meat meal by continent for the period 1992-2002. The data is taken from the FAO database and is only available through 2002 (2). As the United States dominates the North and Central American region, U.S. data has been shown separately from the rest of North and Central America. Table 2 shows similar data for rendered animal fats over the same period of time (2). 

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. 

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