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Crude Oil15-May-2025
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Saudi energy and chemical
giant Saudi Aramco has signed 34 Memoranda of
Understanding (MoUs) and agreements potentially
worth about $90 billion in total, with major US
companies.
The deals cover a range of fields, including
liquefied natural gas (LNG), fuels, chemicals,
emission-reduction technologies, artificial
intelligence (AI) and other digital solutions,
manufacturing, asset management, short-term
cash investments, and procurement of materials,
equipment, and services, the company said on 14
May.
“Our US-related activities have evolved over
the decades, and now include multi-disciplinary
R&D, the Motiva refinery in Port Arthur,
start-up investments, potential collaborations
in LNG, and ongoing procurement,” Saudi Aramco
president and CEO Amin Nasser said.
“As Aramco pursues an ambitious value-driven
growth strategy, we believe that aligning with
world-class partners supports further
development of our operations, strategic
diversification of our portfolio, industrial
innovation, and ongoing capability development
within the Kingdom,” he added.
The MoUs and agreements signed by Aramco and
its Aramco Group Companies are as follows:
Downstream
Honeywell UOP: MoU related to technology
licensing for an aromatics project.
Motiva: MoU related to an aromatics project
in Port Arthur, subject to a final investment
decision.
Afton Chemical: MoUs related to development
and supply of chemical fuel additives in
pipelines and retail fuel offerings.
ExxonMobil: MoU related to evaluating a
significant upgrade to the SAMREF (Saudi Aramco
Mobil Refinery Company) refinery and expanding
the facility into a world-class integrated
petrochemical complex.
Upstream
Sempra Infrastructure: MoU related to
previously announced HOA (head of agreement)
regarding LNG equity and offtake stake in Port
Arthur LNG 2.
Woodside Energy: Collaboration Agreement to
explore global opportunities, including an
equity interest and LNG offtake from the
Louisiana LNG project. Additionally, both
companies are exploring opportunities for a
potential collaboration in lower-carbon
ammonia.
NextDecade: Final Agreement to purchase 1.2
million tonnes per annum of LNG for a 20-year
term from Train 4 of the Rio Grande LNG
Facility, subject to certain conditions,
including a positive final investment decision
of Train 4.
Technology & innovation
Amazon/AWS (Amazon Web Services):
non-binding Strategic Framework agreement
related to collaboration on digital
transformation and lower-carbon initiatives.
NVIDIA: MoU related to developing advanced
Industrial AI computing infrastructure,
establishing an AI Hub and AI Enterprise
platforms, an Engineering and Robotics Center
of Excellence, training and upskilling, and
collaborating with NVIDIA’s startup ecosystem.
Qualcomm: MoU with Aramco Digital that aims
to explore entry into a strategic collaboration
that will focus on key digital transformation
use cases, leveraging Aramco Digital’s 450
megahertz (MHz) 5G industrial network to
connect intelligent edge devices with on-device
AI capabilities, including smartphones, rugged
industrial devices, robots, drones, cameras,
sensors, and other IoT devices.
Technical Services
Procured Materials and Services: MoUs were
signed to reflect the existing relationships
with strategic US suppliers: SLB, Baker Hughes,
McDermott, Halliburton, Nabors, Helmerich &
Payne, Valaris, NESR (National Energy Services
Reunited), Weatherford, Air Products, KBR,
Flowserve, NOV, Emerson, GE Vernova, and
Honeywell. These suppliers provide
high-standard materials and professional
services that help support Aramco’s projects
and operations.
Strategy & Corporate Development
Guardian Glass: MoU to localize specialty
glass manufacturing for architectural
applications in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Finance
Wisayah asset management agreements with
PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Co), State
Street Corporation, and Wellington.
Agreements for short-term cash investments
through a unified investment fund, the “Fund of
One,” with BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Morgan
Stanley, and PIMCO.
Gas14-May-2025
Lower storage targets to apply for 2025,
MEP confirms
These may be enacted in July, if
negotiators can agree a compromise by the end
of June
Next round of talks set for 3 June
BRUSSELS (ICIS)–Revisions to Europe’s gas
storage targets will apply to 2025 once agreed,
with talks likely to wrap up quickly, a MEP
involved in the negotiations confirmed to ICIS
on 14 May.
Jens Geier, who represents the European
Parliament’s centre-left Socialist &
Democratic group in compromise negotiations to
agree the final law, told ICIS the intention
was to implement the rules for the current gas
storage filling season.
Speaking at a policy debate on affordable
energy convened by Energy Traders Europe in
Brussels, Geier said the majority of lawmakers
agreed on a need to avoid sending market
signals about when to buy gas.
“You don’t have to be a socialist to believe
that when Germany has to buy, it has to fill up
[stocks by two more percentage points] for the
first of August, it’s an invitation to raise
prices,” Geier said, talking about speculation
over changing filling targets.
ICIS assessments have shown a correlation
between agreement in each step of the revision
process and the spreads between the Dutch TTF
Q3 ’25 and front-winter contracts.
The discount averaged €0.548/MWh below Winter
’25 between 9-23 April, correlating with
details of the Council position. The discount
then widened to €0.955/MWh from 24 April-7 May,
after the ITRE committee vote suggested a
speedy resolution to negotiations.
This is in stark contrast with the first three
months of 2025, when the Dutch TTF Q3 ’25 held
an average premium of €2.769 over Winter ’25.
TRILOGUE TALKS
A delegation from the Parliament began
so-called trilogue negotiations on 13 May, with
EU countries, represented by the Council of the
EU, and with the European Commission also
attending.
The talks aim to find a compromise between
positions adopted by the Council and the
Parliament.
Geier said the first round of discussions went
well and that co-legislators were like-minded
about not needing the “harsh regulation” of 90%
filling targets.
“We can believe in the traders that they will
provide security of supply,” Geier said,
calling for trust in the market backed by
penalties if it failed to deliver.
Geier told the panel he thought a maximum of
two more rounds of talks at political level
would be needed to agree a deal, saying most of
the work would be done at technical level.
He also said he hoped the deal could be
concluded before Poland’s Council presidency
concludes in June, telling ICIS he hoped the
final deal could be endorsed by the full
parliament in July.
An EU source confirmed the next discussions
would take place on 3 June, after a very
positive first round.
Jet Kerosene14-May-2025
SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Brazilian President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva had already got several
investment deals in the bag midway through his
five-day state visit to China – among others,
Envision Group has committed $1.0 billion in
Latin America’s largest economy to produce
sugar-based sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Green hydrogen, ammonia also within
Envision plans for its ‘Net-Zero Industrial
Park
Energy production, energy storage on focus
in Brazil, China firms talks, deals
China’s insatiable hunger for grain sees
Brazil as the counterweight to US supply
SAF: LARGE SCALEWhile
Envision Group’s announcement did not disclose
any financial details about its Brazilian SAF
plans, Brazil’s Planalto Presidential Palace
press services said in a separate statement the
firm’s investment would stand at around $1.0
billion.
The announcement came soon after Lula met
Envision’s management in Beijing.
“Envision will develop Latin
America’s first Net-Zero Industrial Park
in Brazil. Anchored by the production of
SAF, the park will establish a complete green
fuel value chain while advancing the
development of green hydrogen and green
ammonia,” said the company.
“We will build Latin America’s first Net Zero
Industrial Park in Brazil, creating a green
ecosystem centered on SAF, green hydrogen,
green ammonia, and renewable energy systems,”
said Envision on a post on social media network
LinkedIn.
“By leveraging Brazil’s abundant renewable
resources to drive sustainable growth and
continuously innovating to lower the cost of
green fuels, this collaboration [is to]
contribute positively to Brazil’s green
transition and reindustrialization.”
IT’S ALL (MOSTLY) ABOUT
ENERGY
The Brazilian president is due to meet “several
companies” this week while in his visit to
China, eyeing not only investments in Brazil
but also partnerships with Brazilian
institutions and the creation of research
centers.
The main objective for the latter would be to
generate “technological development” in the
energy sector, said the cabinet’s chief of
staff, Rui Costa, who is travelling with the
President.
According to the Brazilian government,
agreements with Chinese companies will involve
projects in renewable energy – wind and solar
energy but also some hybrid projects which will
focus primarily on energy storage in Brazilian
territory.
“Brazil is one of the countries that has
invested the most in wind and solar energy, but
today it lacks the ability to store this
energy,” said Costa.
Apart from Envision, CGN Power also said it
would invest Brazilian reais (R) 3.0 billion
($535 million) in a wind, solar, and energy
storage hub.
Lula also met the chairmen of automotive group
GAC and the chairman of Windey Energy
Technology Group. Within automotive, electric
vehicles (EVs) major Great Motor Wall (GMW)
said it would invest R6.0 billion in car
manufacturing facilities in Brazil.
Finally, another deal to highlight would be
China’s semiconductor company Longsys
commitment to invest R650 million to expand
capacity at its Brazilian subsidiary Zilia,
potentially helping avoid US tariffs on
China-made chips.
Meanwhile, Lula also found time in his first
two days of state visit to meet with the CEO of
Norinco, a conglomerate in the defense sector
but whose reach expands also to infrastructure
projects such highways, railways, hydroelectric
plants, and water treatment plants.
On May 13, Lula and China’s President Xi
Jinping also had a one-on-one, although the
pair had already met a few days earlier in
Moscow.
RELENTLESS GROWTH IN BILATERAL
TRADE
According to figures by the Brazilian cabinet,
China has since 2009 been Brazil’s largest
trading partner.
Bilateral trade stood in 2023 at $157.5
billion, with Brazil exporting to China goods
worth $104.3 billion and importing goods worth
$53.1 billion from China.
The growth in bilateral trade continued up to
the first quarter of this year. According to
the same information by Brazil’s cabinet,
between January and March trade between Brazil
and China stood at $38.8 billion – Brazil
exported $19.8 billion and imported $19
billion.
Among the main products exported by Brazil are
crude petroleum oils, soybeans, and iron ore
and concentrates. Brazil, in turn, mainly
imports from China vessels, telecommunications
equipment, electrical machinery and appliances,
valves and thermionic tubes (valves).
MOSCOW STOPOVER
CRITICISMBefore landing in China
over the weekend, Lula had visited Russia and
took part on 10 May in Moscow’s Red Square
military parade in which the country remembers
the victory of the Soviet Union against
Germany.
Lula defended his presence in Red Square and
argued that did not disqualify him as a
potential peace mediator between Russia and
Ukraine, the latter suffering a full-scale
invasion by the former since 2022.
Lula has always sought to develop Brazil’s soft
power influence and as a global mediator.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, however,
he has at times stated that Moscow and Kyiv
bear equal responsibility for the war, calling
them both to settle their differences through
dialogue.
Front page picture: Lula (left) meeting
with Chinese officials in
Beijing
Picture source: Brazil’s Planalto
presidential palace press services
Insight by Jonathan Lopez
($1=R5.61)

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Polystyrene14-May-2025
BANGKOK (ICIS)–Tough times lie ahead for the
Asia’s petrochemical industry amid continued
oversupply and a global economic downturn
because of US tariffs, but a pivot to
sustainable products can help.
US-China trade war
threatens industries
Oversupply, weak demand signal prolonged
downturn; plant closures loom
Energy transition offers feedstock
opportunities
Global megatrends, including geopolitics,
energy transition, and sustainability are
fundamentally reshaping petrochemical demand
patterns and the entire industry.
The US-China trade war de-escalated this week
as both sides agreed to bring down tariffs on
each other significantly by 14 May.
An all-out trade war between the US and China,
the world’s two-biggest economies, could
trigger a global recession.
There is also a possibility that amid high
trade tensions with the US, China could
flood the global market with excess
products, which may prompt building of trade
barriers by other countries
After striking an initial agreement to bring
down tariffs from more than 100%, the US and
China are expected to continue with trade
negotiations.
In the meantime, uncertainty is dominating
markets, leading to soft demand.
DIFFICULTIES
The petrochemical industry is facing
significant challenges, including oversupply,
cost volatility, and regulatory shifts, ICIS
Chemical Analytics vice president Alexander
Lidback said.
Amid persistently low demand, firms are
shutting plants around the world, notably in
Europe, and without significant shutdowns,
polyolefin oversupply could persist into the
mid-2030s, forcing companies into survival
mode.
The industry will need to “go through worse to
get better”, with 2027/2028 being a
potential turning point for survival, Lidback
said.
China’s increased capacity, which was
“underestimated”, is also a contributing
factor to oversupply, and global polyolefins
capacity significantly exceeds demand
currently, ICIS senior consultant John
Richardson said.
Adaptation through plastics circularity and
innovation could be a way for companies to
survive, although this also presents its own
difficulties, said Bala Ramani, director of
sustainability consulting and Asia strategy
advisor at ICIS.
All three will be speaking at the Asia
Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in
Bangkok, Thailand on 15-16 May, discussing
market challenges and opportunities in the
sector.
The theme for APIC 2025 is “Ensuring a
Transformed World Prosperity”, with a
particular focus on “Action for Planet with
Innovation and Collaboration”.
CIRCULARITY
There is a need amid the current demand
downturn to adapt to the changing landscape
-one of which is by exploring plastics
circularity and alternative feedstocks.
Sustainable polyolefins present as “interesting
opportunity”, especially for integrated
polyolefins producers to leverage existing
assets for driving incremental value, Ramani
said.
“By embracing a multi-faceted production model,
the polyolefins industry can reduce its
environmental footprint, meet evolving
regulatory demands, and unlock new value
streams in a resource-constrained world,” said
Ramani.
The path towards circularity sustainability for
polyolefins involves several approaches:
mechanical recycling, circular polyolefins
derived from pyrolysis oil, and bio-circular
polyolefins derived from bio-naphtha or other
hydrogenated bio-derived oil.
Pyrolysis is expected to become a complementary
solution alongside mechanical recycling in
tackling plastic pollution.
In turn, polyolefins producers can maximize the
value of pyrolysis oil integration by
strategically aligning feedstock procurement,
technology, and processing configurations,
Ramani said.
Europe leads with robust regulations and
collaboration, eyeing over 13 million tonnes of
sustainable polyolefins by 2040. Asia, however,
lags, stymied by fragmented policies despite
interest for sustainable polyolefins from
markets such as India, Japan and
South Korea.
“In Asia, early adoption by a few markets and
global brands, combined with evolving yet
fragmented policies, is building momentum and
opportunities, with future growth hinging on
regulatory alignment and infrastructure
development,” Ramani said.
Regulatory fragmentation among Asian countries
compared with EU regulatory mandates makes
sustainable polyolefins market tricky to scale.
South Korea and Japan are paving the way for
sustainable polyolefins demand, although Asian
investments are likely to target developed
markets such as the EU, before pivoting to
local and regional markets in the long term.
Were EU recycled content targets to be adopted
in Asia, the region could unlock over 18
million tonnes of sustainable polyolefins
demand by 2040.
But while alternative feedstocks and
sustainable polyolefins offer opportunities for
producers, their widespread adoption faces
other hurdles including regulatory uncertainty,
high costs, technology scalability and
insufficient waste infrastructure.
“Amid ongoing industry challenges, sustainable
polyolefins are set to drive resilience through
resource efficiency, regulatory compliance, and
new value creation enabled by circular
production models,” Ramani said.
Insight article by Jonathan
Yee
Click here to view the ICIS
Recycled Plastics Focus topic
page.
Visit the ICIS Topic Page: US tariffs,
policy – impact on chemicals and energy.
Thumbnail image: Panorama from Golden
Mount, skyline of Bangkok, Thailand, (By Walter
G Allgöwer/imageBROKER/Shutterstock)
Power14-May-2025
Italian TSO Terna has likely been
curtailing solar generation on sunny days
with low demand according to traders and
publicly available data
Market participants told ICIS that
curtailments could be bullish for Italian gas
and power prices
Curtailments aim to safeguard grid
stability and could indicate Terna taking
cautious approach following Iberian blackout
in April
LONDON (ICIS)–Several market participants
told ICIS that recent curtailments of Italian
solar output by the national transmission
system operator (TSO) Terna could have a
bullish impact on power prices by replacing
cheap renewable generation with more
expensive gas-fired output.
“The Italian TSO has likely been curtailing
solar generation, as the forecasts don’t
match up with the actual generation levels,
especially on festive days with low demand,”
a trader told ICIS.
A second trader added that the effect would
be “decidedly bullish on power and gas”.
BEAR OR BULL?
Italian solar curtailments are indicative of
grid oversupply, which is potentially a
bearish indicator for power prices.
On 1 May, amid the Labor Day national
holiday, low demand and sunny weather,
pressures Italian electricity prices to zero
or near-zero for seven consecutive hours
(11:00-17:00) across all zones.
Italian load peaked at 27.7GW on 1 May, some
9.3GW below the peak load average for the
month of May so far.
The combination of low demand and strong
solar led to actual solar generation, as
reported by Terna, falling behind ENTSO-E’s
Day-ahead forecast for 1 May, a discrepancy
which could indicate curtailments.
Despite being an indicator of oversupply,
according to ICIS Italian power analyst Luca
Urbanucci, the impact of the curtailments is
ultimately bullish.
“If Terna is curtailing solar generation
more, this means that low-cost renewable
generation is being replaced by something
more expensive, like gas”, said Urbanucci.
A third trader agreed with this view,
claiming that “the impact will be more
bullish than bearish”.
Perhaps in anticipation of increased
prospects of solar curtailments, on 27 March
the Italian regulator Arera issued
Resolution 128/2025/R/EFR to compensate
solar producers for curtailed energy,
extending a mechanism that previously applied
only to wind power.
GRID SECURITY
The first trader told ICIS that curtailments
were “probably made because Terna is having
difficulties balancing the grid”.
The first trader also explained Terna’s
curtailments could be due to safety reasons.
“Curtailments are made in order to have more
gas-fired power plants running, so that if
solar generation should suddenly and
unexpectedly drop due to a passing cloud,
gas-fired generation can be quickly ramped up
and offset the loss,” the same trader said.
A second Italian power analyst noted that “we
are also witnessing unplanned import
reductions made likewise with the goal of
leaving more space for Italian CCGTs”.
Keeping additional combined-cycle gas
turbines (CCGTs) online could provide both
additional grid inertia and ramping
capability for the Italian grid.
The second trader suggested that the
curtailments might be linked to the Italian
TSO taking a more cautious approach after the
major Iberian blackout on 28 April.
However, ICIS’s Urbanucci was skeptical
regarding any recent change in Terna’s
approach, stating that he did not believe
that “Terna’s recent behavior has been
particularly influenced by what happened in
Spain.”
“The Italian TSO has always been quite
conservative in avoiding risks of overloading
the grid,” said Urbanucci.
In April, Italian solar generation was 15.7%
higher than in April 2024.
Terna did not reply to questions from ICIS by
the time of publishing.
Ammonia13-May-2025
TORONTO (ICIS)–The government of Canada’s
oil-rich Alberta is freezing the province’s
industrial carbon price at Canadian dollar (C$)
95/tonne ($68/tonne).
The decision to freeze the price indefinitely
was in response to the US tariffs, which were
increasing costs, disrupting supply chains and
creating uncertainty for industry, making it
challenging to operate efficiently and stay
globally competitive, the government said.
The freeze would provide certainty and economic
relief to companies in oil and gas,
electricity, petrochemical, manufacturing,
cement, pulp and paper, mining, and forestry,
Premier (Governor) Danielle Smith and
environment minister Rebecca Schulz said in a
webcast press conference on Monday.
Smith said that Canada could not get too far
ahead of the US in terms of climate policies,
otherwise “billions of dollars of investments”
would go to the US, instead of Canada.
Schulz added that a price above C$100/tonne
would make Alberta “wildly uncompetitive.”
The price had been scheduled to rise to
C$110/tonne in 2026 and continue increasing to
C$170/tonne by 2030 – in line with Canada’s
federal industrial carbon pricing system, which
sets minimum standards.
Smith and Schulz said that the government would
talk to companies that have been making
investments in Alberta, based on industrial
carbon pricing.
Schulz added that she had already reached out
to Dow, NOVA Chemicals and others to “signal”
the government’s new direction, given that “it
is a very different time that we are in right
now.”
“It is unfair to artificially increase a carbon
tax to benefit a small amount of projects and
then leave the entire rest of industry in a
position where they are uncompetitive,” she
said.
“We can’t make the entirety of industry
uncompetitive to save one specific project,”
she added.
Dow announced last month
that it is delaying its flagship Canada
Path2Zero net zero
carbon cracker and downstream polyethylene (PE)
project at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, until
market conditions improve and would not likely
revisit it until the end of this year.
Trade group Chemistry Industry Association of
Canada (CIAC) supports industrial carbon
pricing as a tool to encourage companies to
reduce emissions in a cost-effective way.
However, the trade group has
suggested that in light of the ongoing
trade and tariff tensions, Canada may want to
review its industrial carbon pricing rules.
In related news, Alberta’s neighboring
Saskatchewan province paused its industrial
pricing system, effective 1 April.
($1 = C$1.40)
Additional reporting by Joseph Chang
Please also visit US
tariffs, policy – impact on chemicals and
energy
Thumbnail photo source: Dow
Speciality Chemicals13-May-2025
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Japanese automaker Nissan
Motor Corp announced on Tuesday a slate of new
cost-saving measures, including job cuts of
11,000, after swinging to a net loss of yen (Y)
670.9 billion ($4.5 billion) in the fiscal year
ending 31 March 2025.
in Japanese yen (Y)
billion
1 April 2024-31 March 2025 (FY
2024)
1 April 2023-31 March 2024 (FY
2023)
% Change
Net Revenue
12,633.20
12,685.70
-0.4
Operating Profit
69.8
568.7
-87.7
Net Income
-670.9
426.6
Global sales stood at 3.346 million units,
impacted by intensified sales competition.
The latest results come after the
collapse of multi-billion-dollar merger talks
with rival Honda in February 2025 and
follows a November 2024 announcement of
9,000 job cuts.
The latest reductions will bring the total job
losses at Japan’s third-largest carmaker to
around 20,000 in the last fiscal year.
Nissan also plans to streamline its production
by reducing its global plant count from 17 to
10 by 2027.
Petrochemicals make up roughly a third of an
average vehicle’s raw material costs.
The automotive industry is a crucial driver of
demand for chemicals such as polypropylene
(PP), nylon, polystyrene (PS), and styrene
butadiene rubber (SBR).
Nissan said that it expects business to
“continue be challenging with intense
competition, forex and inflationary pressure”.
“Yet, our efforts related [to] U.S. Tariff
policy under our mitigation strategy, we are
prioritizing US-built products, optimizing
local capacity, reallocating tariff-exposed
production, and working closely with suppliers
to localize and adapt swiftly to market
demands,” the company said.
“Given the uncertainty related to tariff
environment, the guidance for operating profit,
net income and auto free cash flow for the
fiscal year are currently to be determined,” it
added.
($1 = Y147.9)
Crude Oil13-May-2025
MUMBAI (ICIS)–India has proposed to impose
counter duties on select products from the US
in response to American tariffs on steel and
aluminium, the South Asian nation said in a
notice to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on
12 May.
The US’s tariffs on steel and aluminium were
introduced as safeguard measures
on 12 March 2025.
India reserves the right to suspend concessions
or other obligations that are substantially
equivalent to the adverse effects of the
measure to India’s trade, India said in its
statement to the WTO.
“The proposed suspension of concessions or
other obligations takes the form of an increase
in tariffs on selected products originating in
the United States,” it added.
“The US safeguard measures would affect $7.6
billion imports into the US of the relevant
products originating in India, on which the
duty collection would be $1.91 billion,” the
notice said.
In April, India had sought consultations with
the US under the WTO’s safeguard agreement,
following the US decision to impose these
tariffs.
On the request for consultation, the US
informed the global trade body that its
decision was based on national security grounds
and should not be considered as safeguard
measures.
The US first implemented safeguard measures on
imports of certain steel and aluminium products
in March 2018. It imposed ad valorem tariffs of
25% and 10% respectively. This was extended in
January 2020.
It was revised again in February 2025 for an
unlimited duration and was raised to 25%.
In response, India in June 2019 imposed duties
on 28 US products, including almonds, walnuts,
phosphoric acid, and iron and steel products
among others.
The proposal assumes significance as both
countries are negotiating a bilateral trade
agreement (BTA) with an Indian official team
expected to visit the US this month for trade
talks.
The BTA seeks to more than double bilateral
trade between the two countries to $500 billion
by 2030. Total goods trade between the two
countries stood at around $129.2 billion in
calendar year 2024, as per official data.
Visit the US
tariffs, policy – impact on chemicals and
energy topic page for the latest
update on the US-China 90-day pause with
significantly reduced tariffs while
negotiations take place.
Crude Oil13-May-2025
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asian chemical shares were
mostly higher on Tuesday, after the US and
China agreed to significantly
reduce tariffs on each other for 90 days.
At 01:30 GMT on Tuesday, Japan’s Mitsui
Chemicals rose by 0.94%, while Asahi Kasei
slipped by 0.54% in Tokyo. South Korean
producer LG Chem was down 2.38% in Seoul.
Malaysia’s PETRONAS Chemicals Group (PCG) was
up by 1.71% in Kuala Lumpur, while palm oil and
oleochemicals major Wilmar International rose
by 0.98% in Singapore.
Japan’s bellwether Nikkei 225 was up by 1.84%
at 38,335.75, while South Korea’s KOSPI
Composite inched up by 0.30% to 2,615.03.
In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up
2.98% at 23,549.46, and the Shenzhen Composite
bourse rose by 1.70% to 2,004.13.
US chemical stocks
closed higher overnight following news of
the trade deal.
In the US-China agreement announced on 12 May,
the US will lower tariffs on imports from China
to 30% from the previous “unsustainable” 145%,
consisting of a baseline 10% tariff on top of
the 20% fentanyl-related tariff.
China, meanwhile, lowered its tariffs on the US
to just 10% from 125%, while also suspending
non-tariff countermeasures taken against the US
since 2 April.
These new measures will take place by 14 May
and last for 90 days, according to a joint
statement by both parties.
The parties will then continue discussions
about economic and trade relations, the
statement said.
However, uncertainty persists as US President
Donald Trump seeks talks with China President
Xi Jinping.
Meanwhile, the US’ hefty “reciprocal” tariffs
on other major Asian economies such as Japan,
South Korea, India and southeast Asian
countries – first announced on 2 April and then
suspended for 90 days – may be implemented in
early July.
Visit the ICIS Topic Page: US tariffs,
policy – impact on chemicals and energy.
Thumbnail image: At the terminal of
Shanghai Port in eastern China on 11 May 2025.
(Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
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