PLASTICS MATERIALS and MACHINERY EXPORT GUIDE a Reference for U.S
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PLASTICS MATERIALS AND MACHINERY EXPORT GUIDE A Reference for U.S. Exporters in the Plastics Industry Prepared by: U.S. Commercial Service, Commercial Specialists and the CS Manufacturing Team March 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS U.S. Commercial Service Support for U.S. Exporters 4 Country Snapshots: European Union 8 Argentina 12 Brazil 16 China 20 Croatia 27 Czech Republic 31 Egypt 34 France 36 Germany 43 Hungary 49 Facilitating Today’s India 52 Israel 58 Innovations, While Helping Jordan 63 S a feguard Tomorrow Kazakhstan 66 Mexico 76 Your Experts for plastics material selection, testing Poland 80 and certification Russia 85 For more than 120 years, UL has been a trusted safety partner to Spain 91 governments, manufacturers, retailers and consumers. UL has been testing plastics since 1941. We work closely with plastic industry Sweden 94 stakeholders to maintain and enhance existing UL Standards, Turkey 97 establish new Standards, and develop certification and testing United Kingdom 101 programs that address emerging technologies and product applications. Discover our unsurpassed capabilities in plastics Vietnam 106 technology, capacity, quality and expertise. U.S. Commercial Service Offices in the United States 112 www.ul.com/plastics 3 UL and the UL logo are trademarks of UL LLC © 2015 U.S. COMMERCIAL SERVICE SUPPORT FOR U.S. EXPORTERS: ABOUT THE MARKET BRIEFS: The U.S. Commercial Service is the export promotion agency of the United States Department of This is a “Plastics Market Briefs” booklet produced by the U.S. Commercial Service. It contains insights Commerce. We provide a wide range of services and programs to help U.S. companies increase their into important markets for U.S. firms. The purpose of this booklet is to provide market intelligence to sales of goods and services to foreign markets. Our U.S. trade specialists and foreign commercial support U.S. companies in the plastics industry who are interested in entering new markets with specialists will assist you in identifying trade opportunities, finding local business partners, launching enormous export potential. We hope this booklet will be a source of practical, hands-on information. your company, promoting your products and services, obtaining valuable market research reports and These market briefs were written by the commercial specialists responsible for the plastics sector in protecting your intellectual property rights. U.S. Commercial Service trade specialists in over 100 U.S. their respective countries. Their contact information can be found on top of each market brief. Please cities and in nearly 80 countries stand ready to help you get started in exporting or increasing your feel free to contact us for further information. sales to foreign markets. NOTE: The information contained in this booklet is intended to be a basic market snapshot for U.S. WHY U.S. EXPORTERS SHOULD WORK WITH US: exporters of plastics/rubber materials and machinery. It is not a comprehensive market report. • Our specialists will assess markets of opportunity and connect you with qualified distributors and partners. We would like to thank our sponsor, Underwriter Laboratories and the contributing partners for making • Through our customized programs, such as the International Partner Search or the Gold Key Service, this booklet possible. we can connect you to potential partners. • Our overseas specialists can provide you with market research, industry-specific or custom-tailored information on growth sectors, local competition etc. • Our services will help you maximize your time at international trade shows, including matchmaking and pre-show promotional programs. • We can assist you to overcome trade obstacles and provide guidance on trade financing. To learn more about what we can do for you and to find market research, find trade events, trade leads, and information on how to export, please visit www.export.gov. Contact us today to connect with a world of opportunity. 4 5 FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS FTA TARIFF TOOL If you are looking to export your product or service, consider export markets with which the United To determine if your product qualifies for preferential tariff treatment under any of these FTAs, the States has negotiated a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). FTAs have proven to be one of the most International Trade Administration (ITA) has developed the FTA Tariff Tool. The FTA Tariff Tool effective ways for U.S. exporters to access foreign markets, making it easier and cheaper for U.S. provides a searchable database for the relevant tariff/rule of origin requirements for any product businesses. These agreements provide a competitive advantage versus products from other (agricultural or industrial). In addition, it generates market access reports/charts across industrial economies because they reduce tariffs and barriers to U.S. exports, protect U.S. interests, and sectors or product groups and creates a snapshot of current tariff and trade trends under the enhance the rule of law in the FTA partner country. In 2013, the United States exported $33.7 different U.S. FTAs. The Tool can be accessed from http://www.export.gov/FTA/FTATariffTool/. The billion in plastic materials and products to our 20 FTA partners, up 4 % from 2012 shipments. FTA website also contains an instructional video, quick start guide, and user’s manual. trade in these goods favored the United States, giving us a trade surplus of $15.8 billion and accounting for 57.8% of total U.S. plastic materials/products exports. U.S. FTA PARTNER COUNTRIES As of January 1, 2014, the United States has 14 FTAs in force with 20 countries. • Australia • Jordan • Bahrain • Korea • Chile • Morocco • Colombia • NAFTA: • DR-CAFTA: Canada & Mexico Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, • Oman El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras • Panama & Nicaragua • Peru • Israel • Singapore Information on these countries is available from http://www.export.gov/ (followed by the respective country of interest). 6 7 THE EUROPEAN UNION THE EUROPEAN UNION THE CANDIDATE LIST OF SUBSTANCES OF VERY HIGH CONCERN The REACH Candidate List currently contains 155 substances of very high concern. It is important that U.S. Commercial Service U.S. exporters monitor the Candidate List, which is updated twice a year, because it triggers legal Contact Information obligations for such companies. Manufacturers and importers of finished products that contain substances included in the Candidate List have an obligation to notify ECHA and to inform customers CAPITAL Brussels NAME Matthew Kopetski of the presence of these substances in the products (REACH Articles 7 and 33). In addition, the EU will POPULATION 508 million (28 member states) POSITION Commercial Specialist eventually require manufacturers and importers to obtain pre-market authorizations. GDP US$ 16.36 trillion (2012 est.) U.S. Mission to the European Union The Candidate List includes many chemicals of interest to the plastics industry, such as phthalates, CURRENCY Euro EMAIL [email protected] flame retardants, and monomers: LANGUAGE 24 languages PHONE +32 (0)2 811-5684 http://echa.europa.eu/web/guest/candidate-list-table. REACH also maintains a list of chemical substances subject to restrictions. This list is located on the SUMMARY ECHA website: Several pieces of EU legislation effect the manufacture, import and sale of plastics. The most http://echa.europa.eu/web/guest/addressing-chemicals-of-concern/restrictions/list-of-restrictions comprehensive and extensive of these regulations is REACH, the EU regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006). REACH applies to the entire plastic supply chain including additives producers, REACH-COMPLIANT MATERIAL plastics producers, manufacturers of finished goods using plastics, and, in some cases retailers. SAFETY DATA SHEET (MSDS) The safety data sheets remain the primary means for hazard communication in the supply chain of WHAT IS REACH? chemical products. All safety data sheets must meet the latest requirements of the REACH regulation. REACH, the acronym for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and restriction of Chemicals, is the See guidance on the compilation of safety data sheets: basic EU regulation applying to chemicals. The legislation entered into force on June 1, 2007, and it http://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/17235/sds_en.pdf applies throughout the EU as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. The purpose of REACH is to enhance protection of human health and environment by encouraging communication throughout LEGISLATION IMPACTING THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY the supply-chain on the chemicals used in products and promoting the use of substances with low The REACH legal text – Regulation EC 1907/2006: toxicity. REACH, which is managed by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), imposes obligations on http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32006R1907:EN:NOT all companies active in the EU market that use chemical substances. Classification, Labeling, and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures Regulation (CLP Regulation): REACH REGISTRATION CLP is the new EU regulation that implements the United Nations’ system of classification and labeling in Europe. All manufacturers and importers of substances in quantities higher than 1 metric ton per year must http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:353:0001:1355:en:PDF register their chemicals by submitting a dossier to the European Chemical Agency (ECHA). One key principle of REACH is “no data, no market.” This means that companies manufacturing or importing Guidance on the CLP regulation: chemical substances subject to the regulation may not place products on the EU market without first http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/chemicals/documents/classification/ having registered them with ECHA. For more information on how to submit a registration dossier, see the ECHA website: http://echa.europa.eu/web/guest/reach-2013. Sector-specific legislation relevant to the plastics industry: Commission Regulation (EU) No 1282/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32011R1282:EN:NOT.