Trade has become increasingly politicized, with a rise in bilateral agreements and friendshoring replacing multilateral schemes, intensifying a deglobalization trend that is risking today’s economic status quo and is set to reshape chemical supply chains longer term.

In the short term, US tariffs are poised to disrupt global trade, drive up costs, and intensify supply chain pressures across the chemical industry. With sectoral blanket tariffs as high as 25%, country-specific blanket tariffs as high as 145%, and retaliatory measures in motion, companies must navigate rising uncertainty and shifting competitive dynamics. Short-term, many chemical businesses will suffer, and the trough may have just lengthened due to economic and demand fallout from the tariffs. This will not last forever; as always, there will be relative winners and losers throughout this period of change, and many market participants will prove resilient, emerging on the other side with stronger business models.

This whitepaper explores the short-term and long-term economic implications of the present tariffs, and in the eventuality of escalation, and impacts on energy markets and key chemical sectors, including olefins, polyolefins, methanol, aromatics, polyester, and inorganics. Access this deep-dive document to learn in detail how tariffs will affect these sectors:

– How the 125% retaliation tariff that mainland China has imposed on US imports could affect feedstocks and petrochemical operations

– Which technologies are at risk of production cuts, and which alternative suppliers can step up to fill the gaps

– Which chemical value chains/ geographies are more at risk, and how will trade flows and demand likely evolve

– How different major economies are approaching the geopolitical tensions arising from the tariffs

– Which countries could benefit from the conflict and attract new manufacturing and/or chemical investment