{"id":2426390,"date":"2025-04-23T10:23:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T14:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-plastics-industry-faces-reckoning-as-world-realizes-it-depends-on-critical-us-export\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T10:29:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T14:29:33","slug":"china-plastics-industry-faces-reckoning-as-world-realizes-it-depends-on-critical-us-export","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-plastics-industry-faces-reckoning-as-world-realizes-it-depends-on-critical-us-export\/","title":{"rendered":"China Plastics Industry Faces Reckoning as World Realizes It Depends on Critical US Export"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchina-plastics-industry-faces-reckoning-as-world-realizes-it-depends-on-critical-us-export%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2426390&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the implications of the ongoing tariff war between China and the United States, particularly focusing on the impact on China&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/microplastics-and-human-health\/\" title=\"Microplastics and Human Health\">plastics industry<\/a>. It highlights how, despite the perception that China may lose less due to its lower reliance on U.S. imports, the recent reduction in U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump...s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">liquefied <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-video-links-biden-to-ukrainian-corruption-burisma-indictment-reveals-ex-president-yanukovich-illegally-obtained-7-4-billion-laundered-thru-fund-close-to-us-democratic-party\/\" title=\"New Video Links Biden to Ukrainian Corruption \u2013 Burisma Indictment Re...als Ex-President Yanukovich Illegally Obtained .4 Billion Laundered Thru Fund \u201cClose to US Democratic Party\u201d\">natural gas<\/a><\/a> (LNG) imports is threatening Chinese plastic manufacturing.<\/p>\n<p>Due to tariffs imposed by China, which include a staggering 125% on U.S.goods,Chinese manufacturers have found it challenging to source ethane\u2014a critical ingredient for plastics production\u2014since most of it was previously imported from the United States. As a result, many factories are at risk of closure or halt in production, as they can\u2019t obtain sufficient option supplies from other countries like Indonesia and Qatar.<\/p>\n<p>The article further emphasizes that the situation has worsened for China\u2019s ethane crackers, which are unable to compete in the market with the high tariffs, resulting in critically important financial losses.It concludes that while the tariffs are undoubtedly painful for American consumers as well, they may hurt China disproportionately due to its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/potus-buries-critics-tells-uncomfortable-truth-about-the-shrill-voices-talking-on-tariffs\/\" title=\"POTUS Buries Critics, Tells Uncomfortable Truth About the &#039;Shrill Voices&#039; Talking on ...\">unsustainable trade practices<\/a> and dependency on U.S. resources. The author suggests that this situation could signal a broader economic decline for China, challenging its position in global trade.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>For the most part, the story of the tariff war between China and the United States has been that, by ratcheting up the tariffs, China has far more to lose because it imports much less from the United States than the U.S. does from China.<\/p>\n<p>And, this is generally true &mdash; but the tale of woe befalling China&rsquo;s plastics industry shows that a slowdown in U.S. imports could put a major dent in their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-chinas-april-exports-fall-amid-us-tariff-war-imports-rise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">export trade<\/a>, as well.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesstimes.com.sg\/companies-markets\/energy-commodities\/china-plastic-plants-face-closure-risk-tariffs-hit-us-ethane\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Singapore Business Times<\/a>, plastic factories across China might come to a halt as &ldquo;[t]he world&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">dominant plastics manufacturer&#038;rdquo<\/a>; is now forced to go without a critical ingredient in production, which it mostly gets from the United States.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-04-21\/china-stops-imports-of-us-lng-amid-trade-war-custom-data-shows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bloomberg<\/a> noted that China&rsquo;s purchases of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, dropped to zero in March &mdash; and the imports were frozen before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/op-ed-trumps-tariffs-will-not-cause-inflation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tariffs<\/a> kicked in.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Overall delivery of US LNG shipments in the first quarter of 2025 fell by 70 percent, according to Chinese official custom data released on Sunday. The hiatus is the longest since the last trade war triggered during U.S. President Trump&rsquo;s first tenure, when China didn&rsquo;t receive cargoes for about 400 days,&rdquo; Bloomberg reported.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The geopolitical conflict is once again decoupling the world&rsquo;s largest LNG buyer and seller. An escalation in mutual tariffs has led China to impose a 125 percent tariff on all U.S. goods, turning to Indonesia and Qatar for supplies.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, that&rsquo;s not going to cut it for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/china-invades-taiwan-pay-close-attention-will-happen-islands-7-elevens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chinese<\/a> plastics sector that was already dealing with an oversupply issue.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s because almost all of the ethane &mdash; which is a component of natural gas which is used in the plastics production process &mdash; that Chinese manufacturers used came from the United States.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The situation is dire for China&rsquo;s ethane crackers [factories] as they have no alternative to U.S. supply,&rdquo; Manish Sejwal, an analyst at Rystad Energy, told the Singapore Business Times.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Unless they are granted tariff exemptions, they may have to stop production or close shop.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The numbers don&rsquo;t lie: With China&rsquo;s 125 percent tariffs on U.S. imports, plastic factories would lose $184 for every ton of ethane processed. With no tariffs, they would be making over $100 per ton.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Across China, domestic ethane production will not be able to plug the gap, with the nation producing around 120,000 tonnes in 2024, according to industry consultancy JLC International,&rdquo; the Business Times reported.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Furthermore, the ethane market &lsquo;is marked by long-term contracts, with little to no opportunity to resell cargoes on the spot market,&rsquo; Rystad said April 10, making it tough for the Chinese to obtain alternative supplies from non-U.S. sources.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>And Indonesia and Qatar &mdash; neither of which are petroleum-poor &mdash; still can&rsquo;t make up from the LNG from U.S. sources.<\/p>\n<p>Now, granted, China&rsquo;s plastic sector was already facing issues, and perhaps a pause in production occasioned by LNG shortages may work out fortuitously &mdash; but I would doubt it.<\/p>\n<p>Not only are Chinese products becoming uncompetitive in the U.S. market due to tariffs, but their own tariffs have made the raw materials needed to make those products uncompetitive, as well.<\/p>\n<p>But then, what did Beijing expect would happen &mdash; that this order was sustainable forever? It worked well enough for them, obviously: They&rsquo;ve abused and abrogated every major trade agreement they&rsquo;ve been a part of. They&rsquo;ve manipulated their currency illegally to gain a trade advantage. They&rsquo;ve engaged in dumping and intellectual property theft. They use slave labor, and they force foreign companies to censor anything moderately controversial to enter their market.<\/p>\n<p>Will these tariffs cause pain for Americans and others in the West? Absolutely. But this is just one of the numerous signs that this will be worse for China, the worst major actor on the global trade stage, which has set up a model that isn&rsquo;t economically sustainable if the rest of the world refuses to play along.<\/p>\n<p>The sooner it crumbles, the better.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The narrative surrounding the tariff conflict between China and the United States has largely been that China stands to lose more due to its significantly lower imports from the U.S. compared to American imports from China. While this is mostly accurate, the challenges faced by China&#8217;s plastics industry illustrate that a decline in U.S. imports could also severely impact their export business. As reported by the Singapore Business Times, many plastic factories in China may cease operations because they rely heavily on a crucial production ingredient sourced primarily from the U.S. Bloomberg highlighted that China&#8217;s liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases dropped to zero in March, with shipments halting even before tariffs were implemented. Official Chinese customs data revealed a 70% decrease in U.S. LNG deliveries during Q1 2025, marking the longest interruption since a previous trade war under President Trump.<\/p>\n<p>The ongoing geopolitical tensions are causing a rift between the world&#8217;s largest LNG buyer and seller, as mutual tariffs have led China to impose a 125% tariff on all U.S. goods while seeking alternatives from Indonesia and Qatar for supplies\u2014though these sources cannot fully compensate for lost U.S. LNG shipments.<\/p>\n<p>China&#8217;s plastics sector was already grappling with oversupply issues; now it faces dire circumstances as nearly all ethane used in production comes from America, leaving manufacturers without viable alternatives if tariff exemptions aren&#8217;t granted. Analysts indicate that with current tariffs, factories would incur losses of $184 per ton of processed ethane instead of making over $100 per ton without them.<\/p>\n<p>Domestic ethane production won&#8217;t suffice either; projections suggest only about 120,000 tonnes will be produced in 2024 according to JLC International consultancy reports. The market is characterized by long-term contracts which limit opportunities for sourcing alternative supplies outside of established agreements.<\/p>\n<p>While it&#8217;s true that China&#8217;s plastic industry was already struggling and might benefit temporarily from reduced production due to LNG shortages, this situation is unlikely to be advantageous overall given rising uncompetitiveness caused by both domestic and foreign tariffs on raw materials needed for manufacturing products destined for export markets like the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Beijing&#8217;s expectations regarding sustainable trade practices seem misguided considering their history of violating trade agreements and engaging in unfair practices such as currency manipulation and intellectual property theft\u2014all contributing factors leading up to current tensions which may ultimately prove more detrimental for China than its Western counterparts amidst these escalating tariffs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2426391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/China-Trade.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4501,53793,47732,53914,53915],"class_list":["post-2426390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-china","tag-environment-2","tag-global-trade","tag-plastics-industry","tag-us-exports"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/China-Trade.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2426390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2426390"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2426390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2426396,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2426390\/revisions\/2426396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2426391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2426390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2426390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2426390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}