Global trade boils down to one thing: getting materials and products across borders and into customers’ hands.
BY CATHERINE DIAMOND
Trade: How does it affect BASF?
BASF has customers and partners in nearly every country on Earth. At any given moment, someone at BASF is engaged in a conversation about getting materials and products across borders and into customers’ hands. With nearly 380 production sites around the world, we as a company have the power to do that successfully. But it all relies on one thing: trade.

According to Business Roundtable, customers in 234 countries and territories buy goods from the United States. Those exports – which totaled $1.6 trillion in goods and $710.6 billion in services in 2014 – support 41 million jobs in the U.S. Jobs in industries that are reliant on trade, including the chemical industry, have grown three times faster than total employment in recent years.

The largest export markets for the U.S. are Canada and Mexico, which purchase more goods than the next 10 trading partners combined. To put that relationship into perspective: one-fifth of all goods manufactured in the U.S. are purchased by Canada or Mexico, and two million American jobs rely on purchases by those two countries alone. They are also the first and second largest markets for U.S. chemical exports. These powerful partnerships are the foundation of one of the U.S.’s most important trade arrangements: the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) reported that since NAFTA was enacted in 1994, U.S. chemical exports to Canada and Mexico have grown from $13 billion to $44 billion in 2018. The report adds that they are projected to reach $59 billion by 2025. This growth represents more than just the relationship the U.S. has with these countries; it is a measure of just how many chemicals are produced here. Importantly, the ACC report also states that 46,000 chemical industry jobs now depend on chemicals trade with Canada and Mexico.

For a large, multinational corporation such as BASF, robust international trade is a cornerstone of not only current-day success, but continued advancement. To promote healthy trade agreements, BASF supports the following actions by the U.S. government.
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For more information on trade policy, contact Mark Washko, Head of Federal Affairs, in BASF’s Washington, D.C. office at mark.washko@basf.com or (202) 800-0751
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BASF encourages the U.S. government to adopt agreements that remove economic barriers to trade and foster international cooperation on regulatory issues. BASF supports modernizing NAFTA to both reflect the realities of the 21st-century economy and deepen regulatory cooperation among the NAFTA parties. Modernizing, as opposed to withdrawing from NAFTA, is in the best interest of America’s chemical industry. ACC has said that U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA would create a tariff burden of up to $9 billion on U.S. chemical exports to Canada and Mexico, translating into higher prices for manufacturers and consumers and likely forcing the industry’s two largest trading partners to turn to lower-cost imports from China to satisfy their demand for chemicals and plastics.
Modernizing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)”
Access to imported materials that are not domestically manufactured is a major trade and competitive issue. BASF supported passage of the “American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016,” which established a new, revised MTB process. The new process will help mitigate costs at the time of import, which could translate into savings downstream for customers. If enacted for a full three-year period, the MTB being considered in Congress would bring more than $20 million in duty relief to BASF each year.
“Encouraging trade through the reduction of tariffs and other barriers helps BASF, its customers and the chemicals industry,” said Teressa Szelest, President, Market and Business Development North America. “It reduces the cost of inputs and the price of end products, and opens access to new growth markets. At the same time, increased competition through trade accelerates the pace of innovation. That keeps us focused on finding new ways to manage our costs, improve our operations and deliver additional value to our customers.”
Encouraging trade through the reduction of tariffs and other barriers helps BASF, its customers and the chemicals industry.”

— Teressa Szelest
President, Market and Business Development North America
Passage of Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB)
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Trade: How does it affect BASF?