MEDIA ALERT: US elections - European chemical industry reacts

The EU chemical industry, representing over 1.2million jobs and bringing 550bn Euro to the EU economy, has reacted to today’s US election result.

States Marco Mensink, Cefic Director General:

“Today we have again woken up in a world that will be different to what most people expected. We have a new US President and, which is important, a Republican majority in both the US house and senate. Following the Brexit experience, it’s far from clear to say today what the impact of this will be. As we saw after Brexit, volatility on markets and uncertainty will prevail in the short term, but the longer term impact has yet to be determined. The uncertainty is the key issue. What we do know is that both climate policy and international trade will operate in a very different environment.  

To reduce this uncertainty, EU leaders need to develop a relationship with the new US President as soon as possible and ensure that the partnership we have had, in terms of democracy, security and the economy, continues. The US and European chemical industry are closely linked and intensive trade partners. Europe’s views on energy, climate, chemical and trade policy should be rebalanced in this new world. Industry likewise will have to adapt, and will do so.

Background: EU-US chemicals business

The US contributed almost 22% of total EU chemical trade in 2015. It is by far the biggest EU trading partner for chemicals, bringing 31.3bn Euro of EU exports, while providing 23.1bn Euro of EU imports in 2015. More data here. Contact Dervla Gleeson (dgl@cefic.be) for any enquiries.

EU-US trade flows € billion (2005-2015)