Original And Recycled Plastics Imported From The United States Are Not Included In The Tax Scope

Recently, the Association of Plastic Recyclers, APR) issued a public statement, expressing serious concern about the pressure brought by the surge in imports of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) in recent years. The association represents the plastic recycling industry in the United States, and is committed to promoting the healthy development of the domestic recycling system, and safeguarding the foundation of "recycling economy" and "local manufacturing". According to APR data, since 2022, the import volume of rPET in the United States has surged by more than 65% in just two years, from 150000 tons to 250000 tons in 2024. Among them, the proportion of imports from Asia will rise from 20% in 2020 to 44% in 2024. This wave of imports is gradually eroding the stability and sustainability of the domestic recycling market in the United States.

The import of recycled plastics has soared, and the American recycling system is facing an impact. APR pointed out that this phenomenon is partly due to an "exemption clause" in the universal tariff and reciprocal retaliatory tariff implemented by the former government - both imported raw plastics and recycled plastics have not been included in the scope of taxation, making foreign suppliers in a dominant position in price competition. More worrisome is that most of these imported materials lack uniform certification standards and transparent processing procedures, which is in sharp contrast to the traceability and quality assurance system strictly followed by APR members. This imbalance of standards is weakening the local high-quality recycled raw material supply that American brands rely on to achieve their sustainable goals, and also curbing the enthusiasm of enterprises to invest in local recycling and processing facilities.

The European experience is also a mirror. In the face of similar challenges, the EU recycling industry has repeatedly warned. APR believes that if the United States does not take early response measures, it is bound to repeat the mistakes.

APR measures to maintain the fairness and development of local recycling

To this end, APR is working with all parties in the industry chain to actively respond and propose five key measures:

Establish a stronger certification mechanism for imported recycled materials;

Compulsory and transparent disclosure of the country of origin of imported materials;

Promote anti-dumping investigations;

Formulate policy tools to give priority procurement incentives to locally recycled materials (PCR) in North America;

Incorporate North American PCR standards into state extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation.

APR emphasizes that protecting the integrity and competitiveness of the local recycling industry is the prerequisite for realizing the vision of circular economy and environmental protection commitment. Only in a fair and transparent market environment can the US recycling system truly achieve the development goal of "sustainable, reliable and globally competitive".