Organic Commodity

Chemicals

USITC Publication 3590

March 2003

OFFICE OF INDUSTRIES
U.S. International Trade Commission
Washington, DC 20436
UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

COMMISSIONERS

Deanna Tanner Okun, Chairman

Jennifer A. Hillman, Vice Chairman
Marcia E. Miller
Stephen Koplan

Director of Operations
Robert A. Rogowsky

Director of Industries
Vern Simpson

This report was prepared principally by

Gary F. Stolz

Organic and Inorganic Chemicals Branch

Energy, Chemicals, and Textiles Division

Additional input provided by

Elizabeth R. Nesbitt

Chief, Organic and Inorganic Chemicals Branch

Under the direction of

John J. Gersic

Chief, Energy, Chemicals and Textiles Division

Address all communications to

Secretary to the Commission
United States International Trade Commission
Washington, DC 20436
PREFACE
In 1991 the United States International Trade Commission initiated its current Industry and
Trade Summary series of informational reports on the thousands of products imported into
and exported from the United States. Each summary addresses a different
commodity/industry area and contains information on product uses, U.S. and foreign
producers, and customs treatment. Also included is an analysis of the basic factors affecting
trends in consumption, production, and trade of the commodity, as well as those bearing on
the competitiveness of U.S. industries in domestic and foreign markets.1 This report on
organic commodity chemicals covers the period 1997-2001.

1
The information and analysis provided in this report are for the purposes of this report only.
Nothing in this report should be construed to indicate how the Commission would find in an
investigation conducted under statutory authority covering the same or similar subject matter.

i
CONTENTS
Page

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Introduction ........................................................... 3

U.S. industry profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

U.S. market ............................................................ 11

Consumer characteristics and factors affecting demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

U.S. trade .......................................................... 15

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
U.S. imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Principal suppliers and import levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Tariff and nontariff measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
U.S. government trade-related investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
U.S. exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Principal markets and export levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Foreign trade measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Foreign industry profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Middle East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

iii
CONTENTS-Continued
Page

Appendixes
A. Tariff and trade agreement terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1
B. Statistical tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

Figures
1. Benzene chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. Xylene chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3. Chemical mergers and acquisitions worldwide, 1997-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Tables
1. Organic commodity chemicals: Harmonized Tariff Schedule
classification, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2. Organic commodity chemicals: import-to-consumption ratio, 1997-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3. Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. production, exports of domestic
merchandise, imports for consumption, and apparent consumption,
1997-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4. Organic commodity chemicals: productivity and unit labor costs, 1997-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5. Relative price history of crude petroleum and natural gas, 1987-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
6. Trade balance of certain commodity chemicals, 1997-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
7. Organic commodity chemicals: Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading;
description; U.S. column 1, Special, and column 2 rates of duty
as of Jan. 1, 2002; U.S. imports, 2001; and U.S. exports, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
B-1. Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. imports for consumption, by
principal sources, 1997-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
B-2. Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. exports of domestic merchandise,
by principal markets, 1997-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-7

iv
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Industry and Trade Summary: Organic Commodity Chemicals
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ITS: Organic Commodity Chemicals
ABSTRACT
This report addresses trade and industry conditions for the organic commodity
chemicals, also known as petrochemicals, a category of chemicals derived from
crude petroleum. These chemicals are used primarily as intermediates in the
production of a wide variety of downstream goods, including plastics and
apparel. The period of study is from 1997 through 2001.

• The U.S. organic commodity chemicals industry produced an

average $18.9 billion of these goods each year during 1997-2001.
The average annual trade surplus during this period was
$600 million.

• The largest U.S. export markets of these products were Mexico and
Canada, which accounted for approximately 41 percent of all
exports by value (or $3.17 billion) in 2001. Major U.S. import
sources included Canada, Venezuela, and Nigeria, which together
accounted for approximately 53 percent of these imports by value
(or $2.49 billion) in 2001.

• Consumers of these chemicals typically use them as intermediates

in numerous products, including plastics, adhesives, and nylon
fibers. There is little or no quality differentiation between
domestically-produced commodity chemicals and U.S. imports. The
global market is highly competitive and large fluctuations in
domestic production, imports, and exports regularly occur. These
fluctuations are caused by a variety of factors that include demand
for downstream goods, cost of feedstocks, transportation costs, and
producer efficiency. In particular, the general economic decline in
2001 contributed to the decline in U.S. production levels for that
year.

1
INTRODUCTION
The organic commodity chemicals are a group of petroleum-derivative chemicals (also
known as petrochemicals) used as intermediates to produce other chemicals, which, in turn,
are used to manufacture a wide variety of end-use products, including construction materials,
apparel, adhesives, plastics, and tires (figures 1 and 2). The majority of the organic
commodity chemicals are derived from benzene, a petroleum derivative itself, which has an
unsaturated ring of six carbon atoms (also known as an aromatic ring).1 Examples of specific
compounds in this group include ethylbenzene, styrene, cumene, phenol, cyclohexane,
aniline, ortho-xylene, meta-xylene, para-xylene, and terephthalic acid.

As commodities, the chemicals produced by one manufacturer are virtually indistinguishable

from those of another manufacturer, given the same levels of purity. This fungibility of
goods allows consumers to purchase similar product from a wide variety of suppliers,
making price the dominant economic factor in purchasing decisions. Total domestic
production of the organic commodity chemicals in 2001 approached $18.2 billion. A brief
summary of the six largest organic commodity chemicals, ranked by domestic production
value in 2001, follows (for more information on production levels, see the section later in
this report entitled “U.S. Market”).

Ethylbenzene is an intermediary chemical, 99 percent of which is used in the production of

styrene monomer,2 which is itself a precursor of polystyrene and other materials.
Ethylbenzene is commonly produced by the alkylation of benzene with ethylene in the
presence of aluminum chloride catalyst. Recently, several manufacturers have begun using
zeolite catalysts in place of aluminum chloride to improve yields and purity levels. In
addition to the various manufacturing processes, it can also be separated directly from crude
petroleum, although industry sources state that this method of production is seldom used
because of typically higher production costs.3 Ethylbenzene is primarily used captively, with
little reaching the merchant market. As a result, U.S. price data are not readily available,
although some plants use an internal charge to allocate costs. Domestic production in 2001
was valued at $2.5 billion.

1
Although the xylenes are usually produced directly from crude petroleum or toluene rather than from
benzene, they share the aromatic ring structure of the other benzene derivatives and are sold in a similar
fashion, and are thus included in the scope of this report. Highly specialized benzene derivatives, usually
produced in smaller quantities, are not included in the organic commodity chemicals classification and are
not considered in this report.
2
“Ethylbenzene,” Apr. 30, 2001, found at [Link] [Link], retrieved
Jan. 7, 2002.
3
Commission telephone conversations with industry sources.

3
 Figure 1 Insulation,
Benzene Chain Cups,
Models
Polystyrene
Resins

Styrene Instrument
Acrylonitrile Lenses,
Resins Houseware

Ethylebenzene Styrene Styrene

Butadiene Tires,
Rubber Footwear,
Sealants

Styrene
Butadiene Carpet
Latex Backing,
Paper
Coatings

Miscellaneous Football
Crude Helmets,
Oil Polycarbonate Eyeglasses,
Acetone Computers
Resins

Benzene Epoxy
Cumene Protective
Resins
Bisphenol Coatings,
A Adhesives

Phenol Miscellaneous
Ethylene
Cracker
Phenolic Plywood,
Resins Coatings,
Housings

Adipic
Nylon Fibers
Acid
Cyclohexane & Resins

Miscellaneous
Caprolactam

Isocyanates Nylon Fibers

& Resins
Miscellaneous

Rubber Chemicals

Aniline
Pesticides

Dyes

Miscellaneous

Chlorobenzenes
Pesticides, Dyes

Miscellaneous

Source: American Chemistry Council (ACC). Modified by staff of the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Reprinted with permission of the ACC.

4
 Figure 2
Xylene Chain

o-Xylene Phthalic Plasticizer Plastic

Anhydride D.O.P. Products

Solvents &
Misc. Auto Parts,
Alkyd Coatings,
Resins Furniture

Polyester
Polyol Urethanes Foams,
Insulation
Dyes

Crude Oil Isophthalic Alkyd TV

Xylene m-Xylene
Acid Resins Parts

Polyamide Adhesives
Resins

Solvents

Unsaturated
Polyesters

Polyester Fibers
for Apparel, PET
p-Xylene Terephthalic Acid/Dimethyl Terephthalate Resins for Bottles,
Tapes & Films

Source: American Chemistry Council (ACC). Modified by staff of the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Reprinted with permission of the ACC.

5
Styrene monomer (or simply “styrene”) is made predominantly through dehydrogenation of
ethylbenzene, although a major producer uses an alternative method of oxidation of
ethylbenzene, which produces co-products propylene oxide and styrene. Uses for styrene are
varied, including the production of polystyrene (accounting for 66 percent of styrene
consumption), plastics, rubber, and resins.4 These secondary products are then used in the
manufacture of automotive interiors, boat hulls, paper coatings, pipes, and CD cases.
Domestic styrene production in 2001 was valued at $1.9 billion.

Terephthalic acid is produced primarily from para-xylene feedstocks. As an intermediate

chemical, it is further processed into purified terephthalic acid (PTA). Approximately
50 percent of PTA is used for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins and
43 percent is used for the production of polyester fibers.5 Domestic production in 2001 was
valued at $2.1 billion.

Para-xylene (p-xylene) is one of three distinct isomers6 of the xylene molecule, the other two
being ortho-xylene (o-xylene) and meta-xylene (m-xylene). p-Xylene is used almost
exclusively for production of purified terephthalic acid and dimethyl terephthalate, which,
in turn, are used in polyester fiber for textiles, PET resins for beverage containers, and a
variety of films and other resins.7 Domestic production in 2001 was valued at $1.8 billion.

Virtually all domestic cumene production is oxidized to cumene hydroperoxide, which is

then cleaved catalytically to produce phenol and acetone.8 This method results in
approximately 0.62 pounds of acetone per pound of phenol produced. Domestic cumene
production in 2001 was valued at $1.5 billion. End-uses for phenol include bisphenol-A
(primarily used in the manufacture of epoxy resins and polycarbonates), phenolic resins, and
caprolactam. Domestic phenol production in 2001 was valued at $1.4 billion.

4
“Styrene,” May 14, 2001, found at [Link] retrieved
Jan. 7, 2002.
5
“PTA/DMT,” Chemical Market Reporter, Oct. 22, 2001.
6
Isomers are compounds that have the same molecular formula but different structural formulas.
7
“Paraxylene,” May 11, 1998, found at [Link] [Link], retrieved
Jan. 7, 2002.
8
“Cumene,” Mar. 22, 1999, found at [Link] retrieved Jan.7,
2002.

6
U.S. INDUSTRY PROFILE
Organic commodity chemicals, as defined in this report, are classified in chapter 29 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) of the United States. A complete listing can be found in
table 1. Applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) U.S. National
Industry codes include 325110, Petrochemical Manufacturing, and 325199, All Other Basic
Organic Chemical Manufacturing.

Table 1
Organic commodity chemicals: Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification, 2001
HTS
subheading Chemical name

2902.11.00 Cyclohexane
2902.19.00 Dicyclopentadiene and other cyclanes, cyclenes, and cycloterpenes
2902.41.00 ortho-Xylene
2902.42.00 meta-Xylene
2902.43.00 para-Xylene
2902.50.00 Styrene
2902.60.00 Ethylbenzene
2902.70.00 Cumene
2902.90.10 Pseudocumene
2902.90.20 Acenaphthene, chrysene, cymene, dimethylnapthalenes, fluoranthene, fluorene, indene,
mesitylene, methylanthracene, methylnaphthalene, phenanthrene and pyrene
2902.90.30 Alkylbenzenes (including dodecylbenzene) and polyalkylbenzenes
2902.90.40 Anthracene; and 1,4-di-(2- methylstyryl)benzene
2902.90.60 Biphenyl (diphenyl), in flakes
2902.90.90 Other cyclic hydrocarbons
2906.12.00 Cyclohexanol, methylcyclohexanols and dimethylcyclohexanols
2907.11.00 Phenol (hydroxybenzene) and its salts
2917.35.00 Phthalic anhydride
2917.36.00 Terephthalic acid and its salts
2917.37.00 Dimethyl terephthalate
2921.41.10 Aniline
2921.41.20 Aniline salts
2933.71.00 6-Hexanelactam (epsilon-caprolactam)
Source: USITC, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, 2002.

Producers of these chemicals include a combination of petroleum refineries and traditional

chemical manufacturers. For example, refineries are the major producers of the xylene
isomers, which are direct derivatives of crude petroleum, and of the immediate downstream
products of crude petroleum. Chemical manufacturers are the major producers of styrene,
caprolactam, and aniline. However, both types of firms do produce both groups of products.

The domestic chemical industry has undergone significant consolidation via mergers and
acquisitions during 1997-2001. In this period, Chemical and Engineering News changed its
annual overview of domestic chemicals producers from the top 100 producers to the top 75.9
This change was a result of the extensive consolidation in the chemicals industry of
companies of all sizes. The annual value of mergers and acquisitions among chemical
producers worldwide ranged from $33 billion in 1997 and 2000 to $38 billion in 1999 (see

9
William J. Storck, “Top 100 Shrinks to 75,” Chemical & Engineering News, May 3, 1999, p. 19.

7
 figure 3). The largest acquisition in the United States during this period was Dow’s
$9 billion purchase of Union Carbide, which was announced in 1999 but did not close until
2001. Other notable consolidations among the petrochemical producers included the creation
of ExxonMobil Chemical (1999), Lyondell Chemical’s acquisition of Arco Chemical (1998),
and the creation of two joint ventures (Chevron Phillips Chemical LP (2000) and Equistar
Chemicals LP (1997)).10 Because of economies of scale and the highly competitive
marketplace, midlevel companies are often unable to compete effectively in the
petrochemicals markets.11 Small companies (corporations with sales under $200 million)
often do not produce organic commodity chemicals but instead produce specialty chemicals.
These specialty chemicals are marketed on factors other than price. Specialty chemicals are
not included in the scope of this summary.

Figure 3
Chemical mergers and acquisitions worldwide, 1997-2001

10
Joseph Chang, “The Forecast for Petchems,” Chemical Market Reporter, Oct. 15, 2001,
p. e32.
11
Sean Milmo, “Taking on the Petchems Challenge,” Chemical Market Reporter, Oct. 15, 2001, p. e22.

8
In addition to consolidation within the domestic industry during 1997-2001, there was also
an increase in joint ventures in foreign production facilities, particularly in the Middle East,
given the large indigenous supplies of crude petroleum. Two examples of such investment
include the startup in 2000 of Saudi Chevron’s cyclohexane facility in Al Jubail, Saudi
Arabia,12 and the prospective startup in 2004 of an aniline production facility in Shanghai,
China.13 Globalization is likely to continue because of economies of scale and to ensure
reliable access to crude petroleum.14

Most of the organic commodity chemicals have more than 10 domestic producers, even after
the recent increase in mergers. No single company is a major producer of all of the organic
commodity chemicals. Instead, firms tend to focus on a few of the related products. For
example, the largest producers of styrene are also the largest producers of ethylbenzene, a
precursor of styrene. The petroleum refineries, such as BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Sunoco,
tend to be the major producers of the xylene isomers, since these products are usually
produced directly from crude petroleum.

Domestic manufacturing of organic commodity chemicals is centered in the Louisiana/Texas

area. Close proximity to a deep water port, natural stores of crude petroleum, and refining
facilities all serve to minimize transportation costs and allow for multiple processing steps
to take place in a single location. A large majority of the major domestic producers have
production facilities in this area.

Overall, the domestic chemical manufacturing industry produced $420 billion in industry
shipments in 1997.15 Chemicals and allied products ranged from 1.9 percent to 2.0 percent
of gross domestic product (GDP) between 1997 and 2000.16 The domestic petrochemical
manufacturing sector produced $20.5 billion in industry shipments in 1997, with
54 establishments within the United States.17 The U.S. petrochemical manufacturing industry
had 10,943 paid employees and an average payroll of $60,611 per employee.18

Many of the commodity chemicals are available for purchase at specific purity levels, which
minimizes the difficulty of switching supply sources. As a result, pricing and currency
fluctuations are major determinants in choosing suppliers.19 Because most product is sold
free on board, freight costs and, by extension, distance between buyer and seller, are also

12
“Healthy Demand Is Boosting Fibres on the Mend,” Chemical Market Reporter, Oct. 2, 2000, pp. 62-
63. The facility is a joint venture between Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (CPChem) and Saudi
Industrial Investment Group. CPChem, in turn, is a joint venture of ChevronTexaco Corp. and Phillips
Petroleum Co. “Saudi Chevron Phillips Company Expands Cyclohexane Capacity,” Chevron Phillips
Chemical Company LLC, press release, Mar. 7, 2002.
13
“Aniline,” Chemical Week, Dec. 12, 2001, p. 31. The planned project would be a joint venture between
BASF, Huntsman, Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical, Shanghai Hua Yi, Sinopec, and Sinopec Shanghai Gao
Quiao.
14
Sean Milmo, “Taking on the Petchems Challenge,” p. e22.
15
U.S. Census Bureau, 1997 Economic Census, NAICS subsector code 325 -- Chemical Manufacturing.
16
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gross Domestic Product by Industry in
Current Dollars As a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product, 1994-2000, Nov. 2, 2001, p. 4.
17
U.S. Census Bureau, 1997 Economic Census, NAICS U.S. National Industry code 325110 --
Petrochemical Manufacturing.
18
Ibid.
19
McGraw Hill Companies and U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook 2000, p. 11-6.

9
relevant. Pricing of the organic commodity chemicals products is often closely tied to
benzene prices, which are similarly tied to crude petroleum feedstock prices. The industry
uses a combination of long-term pricing contracts and a spot market to conduct sales. Several
periodicals regularly publish trade list prices for a variety of these chemicals; however, these
prices do not always accurately reflect true contract prices, as many companies consider
purchasing terms to be confidential information.

Research and development (R&D) spending in the basic industrial chemicals industry, which
includes both organic and inorganic chemicals, increased from $3.95 billion in 1994 to $5.69
billion in 2000.20 However, R&D spending in 2001 decreased by 7 percent to $5.3 billion,
primarily as a result of the poor market conditions in that year.21 Typically, R&D spending
is approximately 5 percent of annual sales and is divided into three different categories: basic
research aimed at discovering new scientific facts in the general realm; applied research
performed with the intent of using known compounds to achieve a specific goal or result;
and developmental research converting scientific knowledge into a form usable by
consumers.22 From 1991 to 2000, total research expenditures in the chemical industry have
been divided as follows on average: 11 percent toward basic research, 33 percent toward
applied research, and 56 percent toward developmental research.23

Feedstock costs are the highest variable cost in production of the organic commodity
chemicals.24 The larger producers integrate feedstocks and derivatives production in order
to minimize production costs and price fluctuations. Smaller firms do not possess this
integration flexibility, making them more susceptible to variations in feedstock price swings.
When feedstock prices rise, manufacturers often lower operating rates or suspend production
if price increases are not possible.25 Some producers have the ability to switch feedstocks in
order to obtain better market prices.

The industry has faced numerous challenges during the past few years, many of which
continue today, including issues related to the environment, fluctuations in energy prices,
varying global demand levels, and changes in the strength of the U.S. dollar.26 One ongoing
environmental challenge that could affect domestic producers’ competitiveness in world
markets is the required reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions in Texas.27 In 2000, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the Texas Natural Resources Conservation
Commission (TNRCC) to develop a state implementation plan for the Houston, Dallas-Fort

20
T. Kevin Swift et al, Guide to the Business of Chemistry, American Chemistry Council (ACC), 2001,
p. 85.
21
Neil Franz, “Economic Woes Hurt Investment in R&D,” Chemical Week, Dec. 5, 2001, p. 57; also
based on conversations with industry sources.
22
Guide to the Business of Chemistry, ACC, 2001, p. 84.
23
Ibid.
24
Based on Commission telephone conversations with industry sources.
25
Malini Hariharan, “Demand Rises as Economies Recover,” Chemical Market Reporter, May 22, 2000,
p. S52.
26
T. Kevin Swift and Martha Moore, “US Chemical Industry Outlook: Trade and Domestic Demand,”
Chemical Market Reporter, June 18, 2001, p. 33.
27
“Nitrogen oxides, or NOx, is the generic term for a group of highly reactive gases, all of which contain
nitrogen and oxygen in varying amounts. Many of the nitrogen oxides are colorless and odorless. However,
one common pollutant, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) along with particles in the air can often be seen as a
reddish-brown layer over many urban areas. Nitrogen oxides form when fuel is burned at high temperatures,
as in a combustion process. The primary sources of NOx are motor vehicles, electric utilities, and other
industrial, commercial, and residential sources that burn fuels.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
“NOx: What Is It? Where Does It Come From?”, Mar. 22, 2002, found at Internet address
[Link] retrieved Mar. 14, 2003.

10
 Worth, Beaumont, and San Antonio areas to improve air quality.28 The initial TNRCC
proposal to cut NOx emissions by 90 percent by 2007 would, according to some sources,
require significant expense for chemical producers with no corresponding return on
investment.29 In December 2002, however, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
passed new regulations calling for an 80 percent reduction in NOX emissions.30

U.S. MARKET
Consumer Characteristics and Factors Affecting Demand
Consumers of the organic commodity chemicals are producers of downstream chemical
derivatives. Most of the commodity chemicals are available on the merchant market,
although some of the these chemicals, such as ethylbenzene, are consumed almost entirely
on a captive basis. The markets utilize a combination of long-term contracts and a spot
market. In times of excess supply, consumers will utilize the lower-priced spot market to
build up inventory levels.

Demand for organic commodity chemicals is closely tied to demand for derivative products,
including end products such as nylon, coatings, rubber and plastics. The demand for these,
in turn, is linked to established business sectors, such as automobiles and tires, whose
economic viability is linked to gross domestic product (GDP) and the state of the world
economy. Therefore, the GDP in any year can result in substantial changes in demand for
the chemicals covered in this report.

Consumption
Because of the globalization of the markets for organic commodity chemicals, buyers are
able to purchase virtually identical product from many different producers, domestic or
foreign. As shown in table 2, the import-to-consumption ratio increased from 4.9 percent in
1997 to 5.9 percent in 2000, before declining to 5.8 percent in 2001. According to one
industry source, much of the increase from 1997 to 2000 was due to increased imports of
styrene. These imports, primarily from Canada, were the result of increased investment in
petrochemical manufacturing in Canada in the mid-1990s because of newly discovered stores
of natural gas.31 Ethylbenzene and terephthalic acid have import-to-consumption ratios of
1.2 percent or less because consumers are more likely to import the precursor chemicals
(benzene and para-xylene, respectively) and then produce the two products onsite.

28
Carol Cole, “Lawmakers Propose Tax Break for NOx Reduction Effort,” Octane Week, Apr. 23, 2001,
p. 1.
29
Suzanne McElligott, “TNRCC to Decide NOx Emission Cuts Soon,” Chemical Week, May 15, 2002,
p. 21; and Peck Hwee Sim, “ ”Gulf Coast: Will Environmental Costs Crimp Growth?”, Chemical Week, May
15, 2002, p. 19.
30
“Texas Expects Swift EPA Approval of New Clean Air Rules,” Platt’s Oilgram News, Dec. 18, 2002,
p. 6; and “New Ozone Findings Drive Strong Pollution Reduction Plan,” Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality, Press Release, Dec. 13, 2002. The revised plan, which was expected to be approved
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, would also call for a reduction of 64 percent in emissions of
certain highly reactive volatile organic compounds.
31
Peter Fairley, “Canadian Chemicals: Running on Empty,” Chemical Week, July 19, 2000.

11
Table 2
Organic commodity chemicals: import-to-consumption ratio, 1997-2001
(Percent, based on dollar values)

Item 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Styrene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8 5.1 8.9 15.9 24.7
Cumene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.3 9.6 11.7 14.0 12.4
para-Xylene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.2 14.2 10.0 12.7 9.4
Cyclohexane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 1.5 1.4 0.1 4.1
Ethylbenzene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) (1) (1) (1) 0.8
Phenol (hydroxybenzene) . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8 5.4 6.0 1.8 0.6
6-Hexanelactam (epsilon-
caprolactam) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.0 4.3 1.6 1.0 0.5
Terephthalic acid and its salts . . . . . . . . 0.4 0.3 0.7 1.0 1.2
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7 3.4 3.2 3.0 2.5
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9 4.3 4.5 5.9 5.8
1
Less than 0.05 percent.
Source: Based on official statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce, American Chemistry Council, National
Petrochemical & Refiners Association, and U.S. International Trade Commission staff estimates.

Future demand for the organic commodity chemicals depends on the conditions of the world
economy. As an example, in September 2000, industry analysts predicted a styrene growth
rate of 4.6 percent for the next 5 years, with operating rates as high as 99 percent of
capacity.32 However, the international economic downturn in 2001 resulted in an unforseen
decline in demand of 2.6 percent, the first decline in demand in almost 20 years.33 Operating
rates for styrene production declined from 92 percent to 86 percent. Demand decreased to
such an extent that industry sources estimate that operating rates and consumption volume
in this market will not recover until at least 2006.34

Production
Production levels vary in relation to changes in supply and demand. Production levels
increased irregularly during 1997-2000, from $19.0 billion to $21.3 billion, before
decreasing to $18.2 billion in 2001. Most of the chemicals followed this trend (see table 3),
with the exceptions of terephthalic acid, phenol, and cyclohexane.

As noted previously, half of the domestic terephthalic acid output is used in the production
of PET resins, and these resins continued to maintain their historical annual growth rate of
15 percent in 2000.35 As a result, purified terephthalic acid maintained an annual growth rate
of 7.4 percent from 1997 through 2000, with a projected rate of 6 percent annually through
2004.36 Phenol production reached $1.7 billion in 1997, but ranged between $1.2 and
$1.6 billion for the period 1998 through 2001.37 Industry sources state that producers are
trying to keep production levels as low as possible because of high feedstock costs in

32
Peck Hwee Sim, “Warning: Styrene Capacity Shortage Ahead,” Chemical Week, Sept. 13, 2000, p. 68.
33
“Styrene Industry to Recover after Dismal 2001," Oil & Gas Journal, Feb. 4, 2002, p. 52.
34
Ibid.
35
Robert Brown, “PET Market is Resilient Despite U.S. Economic Drop,” Chemical Market Reporter,
July 2, 2001, p. 16.
36
“PTA/DMT,” Chemical Market Reporter, Oct. 22, 2001, p. 31.
37
“Phenol,” Chemweek, Jan. 9, 2002, p. 31.

12
Table 3
Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. production, exports of domestic merchandise,1 imports for
consumption,2 and apparent consumption, 1997-2001
(1,000 dollars)
Item 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Ethylbenzene:
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,200,000 3,192,500 3,291,500 3,302,500 2,505,560
Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,003 19,227 5,561 18,745 3,758
Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,545 269 54 97 19,129
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,169,542 3,173,542 3,285,994 3,283,851 2,520,932
Terephthalic acid and its salts:
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,999,998 1,553,698 1,671,891 2,032,262 2,105,340
Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191,064 190,060 144,939 89,492 128,262
Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,613 3,489 10,857 20,481 24,971
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,816,546 1,367,127 1,537,809 1,963,251 2,002,048
Styrene:
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,192,000 2,856,500 2,981,500 3,465,500 1,857,473
Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391,039 351,068 627,894 922,257 432,977
Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173,427 135,127 231,177 482,223 466,679
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,974,388 2,640,560 2,584,784 3,025,466 1,891,175
para-Xylene:
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,720,400 1,273,800 1,501,100 2,035,500 1,750,000
Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234,965 227,558 260,747 440,708 343,664
Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226,199 172,838 138,277 232,310 145,758
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,711,634 1,219,080 1,378,631 1,827,102 1,552,094
Cumene:
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,270,500 1,400,700 1,317,840 1,763,000 1,495,887
Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,793 69,482 62,537 123,284 68,371
Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188,130 141,985 165,704 265,954 201,185
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,413,837 1,473,203 1,421,008 1,905,670 1,628,701
Phenol (hydroxybenzene):
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,704,010 1,555,840 1,182,500 1,515,000 1,431,000
Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96,797 108,867 82,512 157,939 171,069
Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81,916 82,689 70,319 25,045 7,793
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,689,129 1,529,662 1,170,307 1,382,106 1,267,725
6-Hexanelactam (epsilon-caprolactam):
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,222,500 1,260,000 1,216,800 1,332,100 1,224,000
Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119,004 108,172 86,205 96,867 98,916
Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,362 52,207 18,582 12,282 6,213
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,161,858 1,204,035 1,149,177 1,247,515 1,131,297
Cyclohexane:
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487,256 419,566 457,812 516,250 585,000
Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,208 67,304 78,461 137,584 87,343
Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,718 5,452 5,241 526 21,127
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454,766 357,714 384,592 379,192 518,784
All others:
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,225,376 4,320,826 4,328,869 5,303,220 5,231,380
Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115,524 124,540 124,667 159,389 159,972
Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159,857 146,601 137,568 161,754 127,927
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,277,097 4,348,801 4,344,296 5,309,152 5,203,098
Total:
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,022,040 17,833,430 17,949,812 21,265,332 18,185,640
Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,283,396 1,266,276 1,473,522 2,146,265 1,494,331
Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 922,767 740,657 777,781 1,200,671 1,020,782
Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,661,411 17,307,811 17,254,071 20,319,738 17,712,091
1
FAS value.
2
Customs value.
Source: Based on official statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce, American Chemistry Council, National
Petrochemical & Refiners Association, and U.S. International Trade Commission staff estimates.

13
upstream cumene, weak demand, and increased global capacity in 1999 and 2000.38
Although demand for nylon fibers has decreased, demand for nylon resins has increased,
creating a balanced market for cyclohexane.39

Worker productivity levels for the organic chemicals industry varied over the 5-year period
(table 4). Using a base level of 100 in 1992, productivity ranged a low of 104.4 in 1998 to
a high of 120.1 in 2000 before declining to 106.4 in 2001. The decrease from 2000 to 2001
resulted primarily from a 14.5-percent decrease in production, despite only a 2.5-percent
reduction in production employment levels.40

The basic feedstocks and energy source for production of the organic commodity chemicals
include naphtha and natural gas. Whereas natural gas historically has been the lower priced
feedstock for domestic industries, with supplies readily available, many foreign producers
rely on naphtha, or crude petroleum, as a feedstock. For example, 70 percent of domestic
ethylene producers have the ability to use natural gas; in comparison, 70 percent of foreign
producers utilize naphtha.41 Although prices for both are variable, industry sources state that
natural gas historically has been a relatively less expensive domestic feedstock, allowing
U.S. producers a competitive advantage in world markets.42 However, since 1997, the
relative price of natural gas has increased compared to that of crude petroleum (table 5).
Higher natural gas feedstock prices reportedly have made the domestic gulf coast-based
producers less competitive than producers that use naphtha.43 In addition, the economic
downturn in many of the world markets has reduced, or at least slowed, the growth rate of
global demand for organic commodity chemicals. Because of high feedstock costs, slowing
demand, and overseas competition, domestic producers have faced a challenging
environment in recent years.44

38
John Hoffman, “Phenol and Acetone Under Pressure,” Chemical Market Reporter, Feb. 19, 2001, p. 3.
39
“Cyclohexane,” Chemical Market Reporter, May 28, 2001, p. 27.
40
William J. Storck, “Productivity Boost For Chemical Firms,” Chemical & Engineering News, Mar. 18,
2002, p. 16.
41
“US Chemical Industry Outlook: Trade and Domestic Demand,” p. 33.
42
Ibid.
43
Ibid.
44
John Hoffman, “U.S. Petrochemical Industry Continues to Face Structural Challenges,” Chemical
Market Reporter, Aug. 13, 2001, p. 22; and T. Kevin Swift and Martha Moore, “US Chemical Industry
Outlook: Trade and Domestic Demand,” p. 33.

14
Table 4
Organic commodity chemicals: productivity and unit labor costs, 1997-2001
(1992=100)

Item 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

All manufacturing:
Productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121.8 129.5 137.1 145.4 150.3
Unit labor costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94.3 90.9 88.4 86.3 86.1
Organic chemicals:
Productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.1 104.4 114.6 120.1 106.4
Unit labor costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101.6 113.6 105.2 105.0 119.1
Source: “Productivity Boost For Chemical Firms,” Chemical & Engineering News, Mar. 18, 2002.

Table 5
Relative price history of crude petroleum and natural gas, 1987-2001
Average for
1987-1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Crude petroleum annual average 15.69 17.23 10.87 15.56 26.72 22.35
price1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Natural gas annual average price 2 . . . . 1.77 2.32 1.96 2.19 3.68 4.27
Ratio of crude petroleum price to
natural gas price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.9 7.4 5.5 7.1 7.3 5.2
1
Price is in dollars per barrel, domestic first purchase price.
2
Price is dollars per thousand cubic feet, wellhead price.
Source: Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review.

U.S. TRADE

Overview

Trade in organic commodity chemicals is intrinsic in today’s global marketplace. Because

these chemicals are usually transported by ship, proximity to a deep water port is said to be
a major determinant in the ability of producers in a given region to compete. For example,
the United States ships most imports and exports through Houston, while northern Europe
primarily uses Rotterdam and Antwerp.45 From these and other ports worldwide, truck and
rail are used to transport product to and from manufacturing plants.

45
Patricia Short, “Europe’s Nexus,” Chemical & Engineering News, May 28, 2001, p. 18.

15
 The domestic organic commodity chemicals industry maintained a positive net trade balance
throughout the period 1997-2001, increasing from $361 million in 1997 to $946 million in
2000, before declining to $474 million in 2001. A significant part of this variation reflects
the trade balance in styrene. The styrene trade balance increased from $218 million in 1997
to $440 million in 2000, only to decrease to a negative trade balance of $34 million in 2001.
Although the styrene market averaged 4 percent annual growth through 1999, industry
sources estimated a 10-percent decline in demand in 2001.46 Polystyrene demand, which
accounts for two-thirds of styrene demand, slowed in the second half of 2000 to match the
slowdown in the domestic economy.47 Some analysts suggest, however, that styrene demand
in 2000 was artificially high, and demand in 2001 was artificially low because of buildups
in inventory in 2000 and subsequent depletions in 2001.48 Table 6 shows the trade balance
for several major commodity chemicals.

Table 6
Trade balance of certain commodity chemicals, 1997-2001
(1,000 dollars)

Item 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

para-Xylene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,050 105,203 130,228 209,354 197,904
Phenol (hydroxybenzene) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,588 12,364 4,057 111,611 145,884
Terephthalic acid and its salts . . . . . . . . . . . 192,805 190,681 134,307 69,947 124,242
6-Hexanelactam (epsilon-
caprolactam) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,640 55,963 67,623 84,584 92,705
Cyclohexane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,489 61,852 73,221 137,056 66,216
Aniline and its salts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (11,027) (516) 3,346 13,056 12,310
meta-Xylene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (7,168) 20,303 16,915 18,120 10,908
Phthalic anhydride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,568 3,766 6,619 6,867 7,803
Dicyclopentadiene and other cyclanes,
cyclenes, and cycloterpenes . . . . . 11,506 (3,934) (17,976) (4,840) 6,545
Cyclohexanol, methylcyclo-
hexanols and dimethylcyclo-
hexanols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (8,415) (4,988) (4,451) (968) 700
Dodecylbenzene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (737) (2,649) (3,053) (3,133) (3,669)
Dimethyl terephthalate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,102 3,541 918 835 (3,722)
ortho-Xylene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (31,940) (37,899) (35,245) (26,300) (13,445)
Ethylbenzene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,457 18,959 5,508 18,650 (15,373)
Styrene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217,611 215,941 396,716 440,034 (33,701)
Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

46
John Hoffman, “Styrene Demand and Prices Remain Weak,” Chemical Market Reporter, Sept. 10,
2001, p. 1.
47
Ibid.
48
“CMAI Publishes Results of 2002 World Styrene Analysis,” PRNewswire, Dec. 28, 2001.

16
U.S. Imports

Principal Suppliers and Import Levels

U.S. imports of organic commodity chemicals increased irregularly during 1997-2001, from
$923 million in 1997 to $1.2 billion in 2000, before declining to $1.0 billion in 2001. The
principal organic commodity chemicals imported into the United States during this period,
based on value, were styrene, cumene, and para-xylene. Together, these three products
accounted for 72 percent of the imported organic commodity chemicals during 1997-2001.

Styrene imports account for a significant portion of the fluctuation in the overall import
levels of the organic commodity chemicals. Styrene imports grew from $173 million in 1997
to $482 million in 2000 before declining to $467 million in 2001. Cumene mirrored the
overall import level fluctuations, increasing irregularly from $188 million in 1997 to
$266 million in 2000, before declining to $201 million in 2001. Phenol production, which
accounts for 95 percent of cumene demand, experienced a significant decline in demand in
2001.49

The primary suppliers of U.S. organic commodity chemical imports were Canada,
Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, all countries with domestic reserves of crude
petroleum. Canada exported $514 million of these goods in 2001 to the United States,
$462 million of which was styrene. Venezuela exported $83 million, including $47 million
in cumene and $21 million in para-xylene. Saudi Arabia exported $81 million, $40 million
of which was para-xylene. Nigeria exported $21 million in 2001, $13 million of which was
cumene.50 Combined, these four countries contributed a minimum of 51 percent of
U.S. imports of these products in 1997 to a maximum of 70 percent of imports in 2000. See
table B-1 for a list of imports by country.

Tariff and Nontariff Measures

Table 7 shows the tariff rates of duty as of January 1, 2002, for imports of the organic
commodity chemicals under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) of the United States.
The United States currently has zero tariffs on eight of the organic commodity chemicals
imported from countries with normal trade relations status; these eight products accounted
for 87 percent of imports of organic commodity chemicals in 2001. Eligible imports from
Canada, which accounted for 50 percent of organic commodity chemical imports in 2001,
enter the United States duty free under the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA). Eligible goods from Venezuela and Nigeria, accounting for 8.1 percent and
2.1 percent respectively of 2001 U.S. imports of these products, enter duty free under the
Generalized System of Preferences. Saudi Arabia supplied 7.9 percent of U.S. imports of

49
“Cumene,” Chemical Week, Mar. 20, 2002, p. 47.
50
Nigerian exports from 1997 through 2000 ranged from $65 million to $127 million.

17
 Table 7
Organic commodity chemicals: Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading; description; U.S. column 1, Special, and column 2 rates of duty as of Jan. 1,
2002; U.S. imports, 2001; and U.S. exports, 2001
Column 1 rate of duty as of
Jan. 1, 2002–
AVE for Column 2 rate U.S.
Compound of duty as of imports, U.S. exports,
HTS Description General Rates Special Jan. 1, 2002– 2001 2001
–––– 1,000 dollars –––––

2902.11.00 Cyclohexane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.4¢/kg + 2.5% 3.48% Free (A*, CA, E, IL, 15.4¢/kg + 40% 21,127 87,343
J, MX)
2902.19.00 Cyclanic hydrocarbons (except
cyclohexane), cyclenic hydro-
carbons and cycloterpenes . . . . . . Free 25% 27,458 34,003
2902.41.00 o-Xylene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Free Free 37,348 23,903
2902.42.00 m-Xylene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Free Free 3,808 14,716
2902.43.00 p-Xylene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Free Free 145,759 343,663
2902.50.00 Styrene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Free 15.4¢/kg + 45% 466,678 432,977
2902.60.00 Ethylbenzene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.2¢/kg +3.5% 3.89% Free (A*, CA, E, IL, J) 15.4¢/kg + 55% 19,129 3,756
0.1¢/kg +1.7% (MX)
2902.70.00 Cumene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Free Free 201,184 68,371
2902.90.10 Pseudocumene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Free Free 2,867 (1)
2902.90.20 Acenaphthene, chrysene, cymene,
18

dimethylnaphthalenes,
fluoranthene, fluorene, indene,
mesitylene, and other specified
cyclic hydrocarbons . . . . . . . . . . . . . Free Free 7,173 (1)
2902.90.30 Alkylbenzenes and polyalkyl-
benzenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.2¢/kg + 3.5% 3.78% Free (A+, CA, D, E, IL, 15.4¢/kg + 55% 4,156 34,691
J) 0.1¢/kg +1.7% (MX)
2902.90.40 Anthracene and 1,4-di-(2-
methylstyryl)benzene . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1% Free (A*, CA, E, IL, J) 15.4¢/kg + 68.5% 26 (1)
1% (MX)
2902.90.60 Biphenyl (diphenyl), in flakes . . . . . . . 2.1% Free (A*, CA, E, IL, J) 15.4¢/kg + 68.5% 169 (1)
2902.90.90 Cyclic hydrocarbons, nesoi . . . . . . . . . 2.1% Free (A+, CA, D, E, IL, 15.4¢/kg + 68.5% 29,341 (1)
J, K) 1% (MX)

See footnote at end of table.

 Table 7–Continued
Organic commodity chemicals: Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading; description; U.S. column 1, Special, and column 2 rates of duty as of Jan. 1,
2002; U.S. imports, 2001; and U.S. exports, 2001
Column 1 rate of duty as of
Jan. 1, 2002–
AVE for U.S.
Compound imports, U.S. exports,
HTS Description General Rates Special Column 2 2001 2001
––––– 1,000 dollars –––––

2906.12.00 Cyclohexanol, methylcyclohexanols

and dimethylcyclohexanols- . . . . . . 0.7¢/kg + 7.8% 7.80% Free (A+, CA, D, 15.4¢/kg + 53.5% 19 719
E, IL, J, MX)
0.9¢/kg + 6% (JO)
2907.11.00 Phenol (hydroxybenzene) and its salts 5.5% Free (A*, CA, E, IL, 15.4¢/kg + 44% 7,793 153,677
J, MX) 2.7% (JO)
2917.35.00 Phthalic anhydride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.5¢/kg + 6.9% 7.76% Free (A*, CA, E, IL, J, K, 15.4¢/kg + 49% 7,353 15,156
MX) 0.5¢/kg + 3.6% (JO)
2917.36.00 Terephthalic acid and its salts . . . . . . 0.7¢/kg + 8.8% 16.24% Free (A+, CA, D, E, IL, J) 15.4¢/kg + 57% 4,019 128,261
0.3¢/kg +1.7% (MX)
0.5¢/kg + 3.6% (JO)
2917.37.00 Dimethyl terephthalate . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.6¢/kg + 7.8% 7.99% Free (A*, CA, E, IL, J, 15.4¢/kg + 42% 5,672 1,950
MX) 0.7¢/kg +5.4% (JO)
19

2921.41.10 Aniline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.7¢/kg + 7.9% 9.37% Free (A+, CA, D, E, IL, J) 15.4¢/kg + 43.5% 2,516 (1)
0.3¢/kg +1.3% (MX)
0.9¢/kg + 5.5% (JO)
2921.41.20 Aniline salts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.5¢/kg + 9% 9.04% Free (A+, CA, D, E, IL, J) 15.4¢/kg + 60% 14 (1)
0.2¢/kg +1.8% (MX)
0.6¢/kg + 6.8% (JO)
2933.71.00 6-Hexanelactam (epsilon-caprolactam) 0.7¢/kg + 7.2% 7.83% Free (A*, CA, E, IL, J, MX) 15.4¢/kg + 40% 6,212 98,917
0.6¢/kg +3.9% (JO)
1
Official statistics for U.S. exports of the products classified under this HTS subheading are not collected at a similar level of aggregation.

Programs under which special tariff treatment may be provided and the corresponding symbols for such programs as they are indicated in the “Special” subcolumn
are as follows: Generalized System of Preferences (A or A*); North American Free Trade Agreement, eligible goods of Canada (CA); African Growth and
Opportunity Act (D); Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (E); United States-Israel Free Trade Agreement (IL); the Andean Trade Preference Act (J); United
States-Jordan Free Trade Area Implementation Act (JO); Agreement on Trade in Pharmaceutical Products (K); and the North American Free Trade Agreement,
eligible goods of Mexico (MX).

Source: Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. U.S. import and export data compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
 these products in 2001, although products with zero tariffs accounted for 97 percent of these
imports, including para-xylene, cumene, and styrene. No nontariff measures restricting
imports have been reported to Commission staff.

U.S. Government Trade-Related Investigations

During the period 1997 through 2001, there were no trade investigations conducted by the
Commission on any of the organic commodity chemicals addressed in this report.

U.S. Exports
Because of the establishment of specific grade and purity levels, the organic commodity
chemicals are of uniform quality and move in a global market. As a result, export levels can
fluctuate because of a variety of factors, including the choice of feedstock and currency
valuations. As previously mentioned, because U.S. producers can avail themselves of lower
cost natural gas, U.S. commodity chemicals often are priced competitively, making them
attractive internationally. However, because of the relatively strong valuation of the
U.S. dollar in recent years, domestic producers reportedly have found it more difficult to
export goods in a profitable manner.51

51
Based on Commission telephone conversations with industry sources.

20
Principal Markets and Export Levels
Total U.S. exports of organic commodity chemicals increased from $1.28 billion in 1997 to
a high of $2.15 billion in 2000 and then decreased to $1.49 billion in 2001. The four largest
U.S. export markets for these products in 2001 were Mexico (35 percent of exports), Canada
(21 percent), Taiwan (9 percent), and the Netherlands (6 percent). From 1997 through 2001,
these four countries accounted for 63 to 70 percent of U.S. exports of organic commodity
chemicals. The two largest organic commodity chemical exports were styrene and para-
xylene, which together accounted for 55 percent of all exports of commodity chemicals in
the period 1997-2001.

Mexico accounted for 42 percent of U.S. styrene exports in 2001. Although the country
possesses indigenous stores of crude petroleum, the Mexican Government has recognized
the need to increase efficiency and productivity within Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the
state-owned crude petroleum producer.51 For example, Pemex Petroquimica president Rafael
Beverido Lomelin cited the need to improve Pemex’s cost structure in order to reduce
Mexico’s dependency on chemical imports.52

Asia has also been a large market for U.S. exports of these products. For example, strong
polyester demand in Asia contributed to U.S. para-xylene exports to this region in the past.
Increased Asian production capacity and decreasing global polyester demand, however, may
affect the future trade balance of this chemical.53 See table B-2 for a list of exports by
country.

Foreign Trade Measures

In general, duty rates on the organic commodity chemicals worldwide are low or free. Under
NAFTA, qualifying U.S. exports enter Canada and Mexico free of duty. The European
Union (EU) has no tariffs for cyclohexane, styrene, xylene isomers, cumene, or
ethylbenzene. The remainder of the organic commodity chemicals entering the EU are
dutiable at rates ranging from 3.0 to 8.5 percent. Japan’s duty rates for the major organic
commodity chemicals for World Trade Organization (WTO) members range from free to
5.3 percent. In 2001, China maintained rates of 6 to 14 percent for their “normal trade
relations” partners, and rates of 20 to 30 percent for other countries. However, the Chinese
Government, under its WTO accession agreement, has committed to lowering chemical
tariffs to 6.9 percent by 2004.54 Taiwan currently imposes tariff rates of 5 percent or less on
most organic commodity imports.

51
Simon Webb, “Pemex Shake-up,” Business Mexico, Apr. 2001, p. 26.
52
Robert Westervelt and Kara Sissel, “Pemex to Invest $1 Billion in Petchems,” Chemical Week, Apr. 3,
2002, p. 9.
53
Malini Hariharan, “Looking Up,” Chemical Market Reporter, May 22, 2000, p. 45.
54
Ibid.

21
 In the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, the Chemical Tariff Harmonization Agreement
(CTHA) was developed, which would reduce maximum chemical tariffs to levels between
5.5 and 6.5 percent.55 North America, Europe and Japan have committed to eliminating
chemical tariffs by 2010, but with the condition that all other WTO members make similar
commitments, even if such a commitment is phased in over a longer period of time.56
Countries that have not agreed to the CTHA account for approximately 30 percent of
worldwide chemical production, including Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia, and Venezuela.
These countries appear to want similar agreements in textiles and agriculture before agreeing
to the chemicals proposal.57

FOREIGN INDUSTRY PROFILE

Major producers of the organic commodity chemicals typically are located either near large
sources of crude petroleum or near major markets of industrialized and rapidly
industrializing nations. As a result, the dominant countries in this market are in North
America, western Europe, and the Asian rim. The members of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) are also major producers.

North America
The Canadian organic chemicals industry depends on large petroleum reserves in Alberta
and Saskatchewan and is an export-oriented industry. The Canadian Chemical Producers
Association reported that 55 percent of chemical gross output was exported in 1998.58 A new
set of production facilities in 2000 was designed for 80 percent of the output to be exported,
primarily to the United States and Southeast Asia. The organic commodity chemicals trade
deficit with Canada was $20.7 million in 1997 and $201 million in 2001.59 U.S. styrene
imports from Canada ranged from $170 million in 1997 to $223 million in 1999. However,
these imports increased to $449 million in 2000 and $462 million in 2001. This increase is
a result of both increased volume and higher unit values.60 Canadian ethane feedstock costs
rose in 1999 and 2000, but this increase was less than the increase of U.S. gulf coast ethane,
increasing the Canadian producers’ competitiveness versus that of the U.S. producers.61

55
Neil Franz, “Huge Chemical Markets Hinge on WTO Decisions,” Chemical Week, Dec. 1, 1999, p. 50.
56
Sean Milmo, “European Chem Industry Is Wary of Trade Talks,” Chemical Market Reporter, Nov. 29,
1999, p. 6.
57
Ibid.
58
Canadian Chemical Producers Association, “Think Investment - Chemicals,” Oct. 29, 1999.
59
Trade balances are based on official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce for the HTS
numbers at the six-digit level of the chemicals covered in this report. Imports are imports for consumption
value and exports are domestic exports FAS value.
60
Based on official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. imports from Canada averaged
276 million kilograms of styrene in 1997-1998 and 505 million kilograms between 1999-2001. The customs
unit value per first unit of quantity averaged $0.527 per kilogram in 1997-1998 and $0.748 between 1999-
2001.
61
Peter Fairley, “Canadian Chemicals: Running on Empty,” Chemical Week, July 19, 2000,
p. 20.

22
 Between 1997 and 2001, the trade surplus in organic commodity chemicals with Mexico
increased 214 percent from $159 million to $499 million. A significant portion of this
increase resulted from increased exports of para-xylene (from $113 million in 1997 to
$252 million in 2001) and styrene ($78 million in 1997 to $182 million in 2002). Despite
ample crude petroleum resources, Mexican petrochemical production has declined in recent
years and Mexico faces the possibility of becoming a net importer of these goods in the near
future.62 The dominant producer in this market is Pemex, a national petroleum monopoly,
which varies between the third- and fifth-largest petroleum producer globally, depending on
output fluctuations. According to industry sources, Mexico’s President, Vicente Fox, has
made it clear that there are no plans currently in place to privatize Pemex,63 but he wishes
to improve the company’s competitiveness.64 These sources report that this will necessitate
increasing the company’s efficiency and productivity through various means, including fiscal
reform.65 Currently, for example, profits are returned to Mexico’s Government, and
reinvestment capital is distributed in annual budgets by the Mexican Government, reportedly
resulting in little incentive for the company to operate in an efficient and profitable manner.66

Asia
Asian Pacific countries currently account for one-third of global chemical consumption, but
industry sources predict this level will increase to one-half in the future.67 Capacity increases
coming onstream between 1998 and 2010, however, may satisfy some of the increased
demand in the region. Multi-national corporations, including Shell, BP, BASF, and Dow,
have invested in petrochemical projects in this region.68

With China’s entrance into the WTO in November 2001, the increased availability of
Chinese markets has major producers worldwide expressing interest.69 The planned removal
of reported de facto trade barriers, including restrictions on import, resale, and distribution
by existing foreign ventures, and the lowering of import tariffs are designed to open markets
to foreign producers.70 Chemical Market Associates, Inc., (CMAI) estimates that China’s
share of the world styrene market by weight grew from 2 percent in 1994-1995 to
approximately 8 percent in 1999-2000.71 In 2001, China’s styrene demand continued to
grow, increasing 22 percent (by weight), despite a decline in world styrene demand of
2.6 percent.72 The country is expected to account for 11 percent of the world’s styrene
consumption by weight in 2003, exceeding Asian production capacity by 1.2 million tons
($612 million based on 5-year average domestic price).73

62
“Pemex Teeters on the Edge,” Chemical Market Reporter, Mar. 25, 2002, p. N27.
63
Ibid.
64
Webb,“Pemex Shake-up,” p.26.
65
Ibid; “Pemex Teeters on the Edge,” p. N27.
66
Webb, “Pemex Shake-up,” p. 26.
67
Natasha Alperowicz, “Asia Still Offers the Most Growth,” Chemical Week, Mar. 20, 2002, p. 34.
68
Eleanor Van Savage, “Asia Petrochemical Industry Faces Challenges in 2001 and Beyond,” Chemical
Market Reporter, Jan. 1, 2001, p. 4.
69
Sigmund Floyd, “Cracking the Chemical Sector,” China Business Review, Mar./Apr. 2002, p. 32.
70
Ibid.
71
Malini Hariharan, “Pull and Push of the West,” Chemical Market Reporter, May 28, 2001, p. S54.
72
“Styrene Industry to Recover After Dismal 2001,” Oil & Gas Journal, Feb. 4, 2002, p. 52. As noted in
the article, however, some of this growth may have been a result of improved record-keeping of imports and
improved antismuggling efforts, rather than actual increase in demand.
73
Ibid.

23
With China’s average tariffs on chemical imports dropping from 14.7 percent to 6.9 percent,
imports of $30.2 billion in chemicals in 2000,74 and a predicted GNP growth rate of
7.6 percent in 2002,75 organic commodity chemicals producers worldwide are reportedly
examining the Chinese market closely for opportunities. One estimate by the American
Chemical Council shows an increase in U.S. exports to China of more than $300 million in
the initial years following China’s accession to the WTO.76 The U.S. organic commodity
chemicals trade balance with China has irregularly increased from $7.9 million in 1997 to
$11.5 million in 2001.

Taiwan has built several organic commodity chemicals production facilities in recent years.
As these plants have come online, U.S. exports of these goods to Taiwan have decreased. In
1999, U.S. exports of organic commodity chemicals to Taiwan were $239 million,
16 percent of total U.S. exports of these goods. In 2001, exports were $135 million,
accounting for 9 percent of exports. In 2000, Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corporation
began production in a new aromatics plant capable of annual output of 450,000 metric tons
of para-xylene, 100,000 metric tons of ortho-xylene, 200,000 metric tons of phenol, and
250,000 tons of styrene.77 Taiwan was accepted into the WTO in 2001 with China, but
industry sources do not predict major changes from Taiwan’s entry. A decline of 2.5 percent
in Taiwan’s GDP in 200178 may have slowed the domestic demand for the organic
commodity chemicals as well. The U.S. trade balance with Taiwan was $183 million in 1997
and $134 million in 2001.

According to industry sources, Singapore has attracted significant foreign investment

because of its stable government and probusiness environment, despite a lack of domestic
feedstocks.79 Without a substantial home market, however, production is largely export-
dominated and is dictated primarily by world demand for these goods.80 The U.S. trade
balance with Singapore for these products increased irregularly from $94 thousand in 1997
to $10 million in 2000, before declining to $2.7 million in 2001.

Japan has reportedly never concentrated on an export market, using only marginal tonnage
for exports.81 However, because of stagnant growth domestically, Japanese producers are
said to be exploring export opportunities, especially to China and other Asian countries.82
The U.S. trade deficit with Japan in these products declined from $58.4 million in 1997 to
$17.7 million in 2001.

74
Ian Young, “China Launches Probe Into Alleged Caprolactam Dumping,” Chemical Week, Dec. 19-26,
2001, p. 16.
75
John Richardson, “Some Spots Brighten Up for Asian Petrochemicals,” Chemical Market Reporter,
Jan. 21, 2002, p. 9.
76
Andrew Wood, “Free Trade Secrets,” Chemical Week, Aug. 23, 2000, p. 3.
77
Malini Hariharan, “Crossroads,” Chemical Market Reporter, May 28, 2001, p. S48.
78
Richardson, “Some Spots Brighten Up For Asian Petrochemicals,” p. 9.
79
Stephen Moore, “Fighting the Tide: a Big Buildup in Singapore,” Chemical Week, Feb. 6, 2002, p. 21.
80
Ibid.
81
“Annus Horribilis,” Chemical Market Reporter, Mar. 25, 2002, p. N29.
82
“Japanese Chemical Industry Turning to China Market,” Asiainfo Daily China News,
Mar. 19, 2002.

24
Europe
The European petrochemical industry has recently faced poor margins, excess capacity, and
weak demand growth.83 In addition, according to a CMAI analyst, current investment levels
in the Middle East petrochemicals industry are “a major factor stopping anyone putting any
money on the table for European expansions at the moment.”84 With an estimated 7 million
metric tons per year of ethylene production coming on stream between 2005 and 2010 in
the Middle East, industry sources state that it is likely that substantial amounts of this output
will be exported to Europe.85

The two major determinants in plant location are access to feedstocks and proximity to
growth markets. The European market for organic commodity chemicals is extremely
competitive, with very low margins. As a result, there are very few new facilities being
constructed in the area beyond 2004.86 European producers, including BP, Shell, and
TotalFinaElf, are entering into strategic alliances in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia
and Iran, rather than building new facilities in Europe.87 Industry sources predict continued
restructuring and rationalization in European production, supported by indications from
producers DSM and Eni that they are looking to divest their European petrochemicals
activities.88

The European transportation infrastructure has been described as operating with less-than-
optimal efficiency.89 For example, the rail infrastructure, built prior to European unification,
contains 15 different nationalized railroads. The majority of European chemical shipments
travel by road (88 percent); the remainder are shipped by waterway (4 percent) and by rail
(7 percent). In contrast, 56 percent of U.S. shipments travel by road, 15 percent by waterway,
and 29 percent by rail.90 The European Chemical Industry Council is seeking to increase
transportation efficiency by increasing use of rail and waterways.91

83
“European Petrochemicals Industry Appears in Need of Further Rationalization,” Chemical Market
Reporter, Feb. 25, 2002, p. 9.
84
Ibid.
85
“Europeans Question Impact of Major Petrochem Expansions in Middle East,” Chemical Market
Reporter, June 18, 2001, p. 6.
86
“Facing Competition,” Chemical Market Reporter, Mar. 25, 2002, p. N33.
87
“Europeans Question Impact of Major Petrochem Expansions in Middle East,” p. 6.
88
“Facing Competition,” Chemical Market Reporter, Mar. 25, 2002, p. N33.
89
Mike Corkhill, “Moving More Efficiently,” Chemical Week, Sept. 29, 1999, p. S56.
90
Ibid.
91
Ibid.

25
Middle East
The Middle Eastern members of OPEC include Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Each of these countries possesses significant crude petroleum
reserves. As a result, it is economically advantageous to base production of the organic
commodity chemicals near these reserves. Proximity minimizes transportation costs and
delays and permits vertical integration and reliable access to feedstocks. This area received
large influxes of capital investment recently by foreign multinationals such as BP,
ExxonMobil, and Shell, especially during the period 2000-2001.92 These new facilities, in
addition to new production facilities in the Asia/Pacific area, have contributed to significant
increases in worldwide capacity.

Others
According to industry sources, Russia has the potential to become an important factor in the
international chemicals marketplace.93 This region has only recently raised production levels
back to the levels of the 1980s.94 However, Russia possesses lower cost and reliable
feedstocks and generally incurs lower labor costs, which, under certain circumstances, are
said to be as low as 10 percent of labor costs in Western Europe.95 Industry sources state that
the two largest Russian petroleum and natural gas producers, Lukoil and Gazprom, have
begun integration efforts from crude petroleum exploration to aromatics production.96 With
strict government controls on energy prices, these firms have turned to the manufacture and
processing of downstream products in order to maximize profits.97 Gazprom currently owns
a 51-percent interest in the Siberian-Ural Petrochemical and Gas Company (Sibur), the
largest petrochemical group in Russia.98 Although its plants are based primarily on
technology from the 1970s and 1980s, Sibur is negotiating a joint venture with BASF and
plans an initial public offering on the New York Stock exchange in 2004.99 According to
company president Yakov Goldovskii, Sibur aims to become a leading petrochemicals player
in Central and Eastern Europe, with eventual plans of expanding into Asia.100

92
Ibid.
93
Sean Milmo, “Russia Emerges as a Potential Power in European Chemicals,” Chemical Market
Reporter, Mar. 26, 2001, p. FR6.
94
Ibid.
95
Ibid.
96
Ibid.
97
Ibid.
98
Natasha Alperowicz, “Sibur: A New Power in the East,” Chemical Week, Aug. 1, 2001,
p. 45.
99
Ibid.
100
Ibid.

26
APPENDIX A
EXPLANATION OF TARIFF AND TRADE
AGREEMENT TERMS
APPENDIX A
TARIFF AND TRADE AGREEMENT
TERMS
In the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), chapters 1through 97 cover
all goods in trade and incorporate in the tariff nomenclature the internationally adopted
Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System through the 6-digit level of product
description. Subordinate 8-digit product subdivisions, either enacted by Congress or
proclaimed by the President, allow more narrowly applicable duty rates; 10-digit
administrative statistical reporting numbers provide data of national interest. Chapters 98 and
99 contain special U.S. classifications and temporary rate provisions, respectively. The HTS
replaced the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) effective January 1, 1989.

Duty rates in the general subcolumn of HTS column 1 are normal trade relations rates; many
general rates have been eliminated or are being reduced due to concessions resulting from
the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations. Column 1-general duty rates apply
to all countries except those listed in HTS general note 3(b) (Cuba, Laos, and North Korea)
plus Serbia and Montenegro, which are subject to the statutory rates set forth in column 2.
Specified goods from designated general-rate countries may be eligible for reduced rates of
duty or duty-free entry under preferential tariff programs, as set forth in the special
subcolumn of HTS rate of duty column 1 or in the general notes. If eligibility for special
tariff rates is not claimed or established, goods are dutiable at column 1-general rates. The
HTS does not list countries covered by a total or partial embargo.

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) affords nonreciprocal tariff preferences to

designated beneficiary developing countries. The U.S. GSP, enacted in title V of the Trade
Act of 1974 for 10 years and extended several times thereafter, applies to merchandise
imported on or after January 1, 1976, and before the close of December 31, 2006. Indicated
by the symbol "A", "A*", or "A+" in the special subcolumn, GSP provides duty-free entry
to eligible articles the product of and imported directly from designated beneficiary
developing countries (see HTS gen. note 4). Eligible products of listed sub-Saharan African
countries may qualify for duty-free entry under the African Growth and Opportunity Act
(AGOA) (see HTS gen. note 16) through September 30, 2008, as indicated by the symbol
“D” in the special subcolumn; see subchapter XIX of chapter 98.

The Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) affords nonreciprocal tariff
preferences to designated Caribbean Basin developing countries. The CBERA, enacted in
title II of Public Law 98-67, implemented by Presidential Proclamation 5133 of November
30, 1983, and amended by the Customs and Trade Act of 1990, applies to goods entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after January 1, 1984. Indicated by the
symbol "E" or "E*" in the special subcolumn, CBERA provides duty-free entry to eligible
articles, and reduced-duty treatment to certain other articles, which are the product of and
imported directly from designated countries (see HTS gen. note 7). Eligible products of
listed beneficiary countries may qualify for duty-free or reduced-duty entry under the

A-2
Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) (see HTS gen. note 17), through
September 30, 2008, as indicated by the symbol “R” in the special subcolumn; see
subchapter XX of chapter 98.

Free rates of duty in the special subcolumn followed by the symbol "IL" are
applicable to products of Israel under the United States-Israel Free Trade Area
Implementation Act of 1985 (IFTA), as provided in general note 8 to the HTS; see
also subchapter VIII of chapter 99.

Preferential nonreciprocal duty-free treatment in the special subcolumn followed by the

symbol "J" or "J*" in parentheses is afforded to eligible articles from designated beneficiary
countries under the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), enacted as title II of Public Law
102-182 (effective July 22, 1992; see HTS gen. note 11) and renewed through December 31,
2006, by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act of 2002.

Preferential free rates of duty in the special subcolumn followed by the symbol "CA" are
applicable to eligible goods of Canada, and rates followed by the symbol "MX" are
applicable to eligible goods of Mexico, under the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), as provided in general note 12 to the HTS and implemented effective January 1,
1994, by Presidential Proclamation 6641 of December 15, 1993. Goods must originate in
the NAFTA region under rules set forth in general note 12(t) and meet other requirements
of the note and applicable regulations.

Preferential rates of duty in the special subcolumn followed by the symbol “JO” are
applicable to eligible goods of Jordan under the United States-Jordan Free Trade Area
Implementation Act, (JFTA) effective as of Dec. 17, 2001; see HTS gen. note 18 and
subchapter IX of chapter 99.

Other special tariff treatment applies to particular products of insular possessions (gen. note
3(a)(iv)), products of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (gen. note 3(a)(v)), goods covered by
the Automotive Products Trade Act (APTA) (gen. note 5) and the Agreement on Trade in
Civil Aircraft (ATCA) (gen. note 6), articles imported from freely associated states (gen.
note 10), pharmaceutical products (gen. note 13), and intermediate chemicals for dyes (gen.
note 14).

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994), pursuant to the
Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, is based upon the earlier GATT 1947
(61 Stat. (pt. 5) A58; 8 UST (pt. 2) 1786) as the primary multilateral system of discipline and
principles governing international trade. The agreements mandate most-favored-nation
treatment, maintenance of scheduled concession rates of duty, and national treatment for
imported goods; GATT provides the legal framework for customs valuation standards,
"escape clause" (emergency) actions, antidumping and countervailing duties, dispute
settlement, and other measures. Results of the Uruguay Round of multilateral tariff
negotiations are set forth in separate schedules of concessions for each participating
contracting party, with the U.S. schedule designated as Schedule XX. Pursuant to the
Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) of the GATT 1994, member countries are
phasing out restrictions on imports under the prior "Arrangement Regarding International
Trade in Textiles" (known as the Multifiber Arrangement (MFA)). Under the MFA, a
departure from GATT 1947 provisions, importing and exporting countries negotiated
bilateral agreements limiting textile and apparel shipments, and importing countries could

A-3
take unilateral action to control shipments. Quantitative limits were established on textiles
and apparel of cotton, other vegetable fibers, wool, man-made fibers or silk blends in an
effort to prevent or limit market disruption in the importing countries. The ATC establishes
notification and safeguard procedures, along with other rules concerning the customs
treatment of textile and apparel shipments, and calls for the eventual complete integration
of this sector into the GATT 1994 and the phase-out of quotas over a ten-year period, or by
Jan. 1, 2005.

A-4
APPENDIX B
STATISTICAL TABLES
Table B-1
Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. imports for consumption, by principal sources, 1997-2001
(1,000 dollars)

Item/country 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Cyclohexane:
Argentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,282 4,569 3,321 0 6,793
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 6,688
Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 16 0 0 3,225
Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 2,357
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 14 891 0 1,669
Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 265
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,436 853 1,028 526 129
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,718 5,452 5,241 526 21,127
Dicyclopentadiene:
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,062 5,229 5,261 4,947 5,620
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,685 6,411 14,057 6,954 4,229
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710 1,256 2,155 2,325 3,513
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 138 390 406 236
Austria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 29 18 34 54
Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 5 0 49
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 797 332 11 2 39
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,254 13,394 21,898 14,669 13,740
Other cyclanes, cyclenes, and
cycloterpenes:
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,598 4,846 8,653 8,444 7,081
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592 799 974 621 1,270
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 80 1,500 4,189 1,260
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573 794 1,459 1,589 1,155
Chile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 903 585 711 445 712
Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447 437 641 666 506
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,114 8,575 5,885 2,764 1,735
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,353 16,116 19,823 18,719 13,720
ortho-Xylene:
Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,519 3,127 11,845 26,788 11,913
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,168 7,425 6,413 7,779 7,935
Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 2,495 7,005 2,611 5,211
Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,667 1,355 3,241 5,174 4,500
Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,137 11,820 6,058 619 2,380
Nigeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,655 8,742 3,967 12,695 2,318
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,367 11,375 4,881 3,615 3,091
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,513 46,339 43,409 59,282 37,349
meta-Xylene:
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 104 75 484 3,808
Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 22 0
Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 1,016 0
Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 768 309 0
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 1,079 0 0
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 0 0 0
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,163 12,296 5,256 3,466 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,243 12,402 7,178 5,298 3,808

B-2
Table B-1–Continued
Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. imports for consumption, by principal sources, 1997-2001
(1,000 dollars)

Item/country 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

para-Xylene:
Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,155 21,201 9,174 41,135 40,325
Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,074 6,719 17,000 48,051 21,281
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 19,841
Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 9,901 20,071 8,206 18,163
Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,298 7,850 22,618 38,012 12,964
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 1,112 8,546
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175,672 127,167 69,415 95,794 24,638
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226,199 172,838 138,277 232,310 145,758
Styrene:
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169,913 121,032 223,396 448,597 462,430
Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 4,134
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 3,986 468 45
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 28
Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 44 0 0 18
Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 14
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,456 14,052 3,795 33,158 10
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173,427 135,127 231,177 482,223 466,679
Ethylbenzene:
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 826 255 35 97 16,108
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 3,016
Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 5
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 14 0 0 0
Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 14 0 0
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719 0 5 0 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,545 269 54 97 19,129
Cumene:
Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,643 34,081 29,466 62,552 47,174
Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,035 12,628 12,539 25,668 36,151
Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,146 22,536 22,019 35,952 31,483
Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 17,095 18,307 30,074
Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,086 7,976 12,034 21,662 27,261
Nigeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,106 32,479 46,486 68,735 13,339
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,115 32,285 26,064 33,079 15,703
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188,130 141,985 165,704 265,954 201,185
Pseudocumene:
Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 1,287 971 1,289
Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507 579 156 1,233 799
Algeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 172 0 386
Nigeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632 5,943 473 2,819 348
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 643 334 700 31
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 209 688 14
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,131 1,493 484 1,537 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,806 8,658 3,114 7,948 2,868

B-3
Table B-1–Continued
Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. imports for consumption, by principal sources, 1997-2001
(1,000 dollars)

Item/country 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Acenaphthene, chrysene, cymene,

dimethylnaphthalenes,
fluoranthene, fluorene, indene,
mesitylene, and other specified
cyclic hydrocarbons:
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 178 0 5 3,665
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,879 2,885 1,351 2,612 2,046
Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,621 2,089 474 1,436 937
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632 1,207 1,097 2,284 465
Ecuador ................... 0 0 0 0 23
Austria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 11
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 323 237 55 27
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,339 6,682 3,159 6,392 7,175
Dodecylbenzene:
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,911 2,430 3,350 3,534 3,666
Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 15 91 0 200
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 9 18 9
Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 3 8
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 2 7
France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308 104 0 0 0
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 538 0 0 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,248 3,087 3,449 3,556 3,891
Other alkyl and polyalkyl benzenes:
Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 124
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 112 194 0 76
Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 11 25 25
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434 13 471 16 19
Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 7 7 3 15
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,942 539 145 15 5
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,946 2,855 941 995 2
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,339 3,527 1,769 1,054 267
Anthracene and 1,4-di-(2-
methylstyryl) benzene:
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 13 20 14
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 4 3 6
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 3
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 3
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 12 12 5 0
Hungary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 106 82 0 0
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 118 110 28 26
Biphenyl (diphenyl), in flakes:
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 92 71 104 138
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 43 53 20 17
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 20 2 12
Lithuania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 2
Austria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 0 0 0 0
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 6 0 0 0
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 59 0 0 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 199 144 126 170

B-4
Table B-1–Continued
Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. imports for consumption, by principal sources, 1997-2001
(1,000 dollars)

Item/country 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Other cyclic hydrocarbons:

Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,010 4,894 1,894 16,062 17,827
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,096 1,054 6,772 7,669 6,214
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,844 1,255 805 861 1,327
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777 958 1,322 1,432 1,047
Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554 1,593 961 539 951
Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 415
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,746 1,145 1,808 1,508 1,559
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,027 10,899 13,562 28,070 29,341
Cyclohexanol, methylcyclohexanols
and dimethylcyclohexanols:
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 18 3 4 15
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 4
France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 841 677 0 0
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,916 4,621 4,056 1,215 0
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841 0 0 0 0
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 9 0 0 0
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 23 4 0 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,794 5,512 4,739 1,220 19
Phenol (hydroxybenzene) and its
salts:
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,748 11,456 7,522 12,848 5,779
South Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 341 0 1,261
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,168 27,245 10,972 0 382
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 261 361 336 329
Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 42 26 19
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 17 15 10 13
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,728 43,710 51,067 11,825 10
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81,916 82,689 70,319 25,045 7,793
Phthalic anhydride:
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,594 6,179 4,826 5,216 3,335
Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,978 793 1,566 2,081 1,800
Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 0 25 1,243 1,205
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 0 32 845 654
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 10 0 0 113
Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 190 0 296 90
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 51 267 265 157
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,769 7,223 6,714 9,947 7,353
Terephthalic acid and its salts:
Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 3 4 0 20,952
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,340 3,140 10,574 20,468 3,388
Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 336
Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 0 0 0 276
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 179 280 0 14
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 0 0 0 5
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 167 0 13 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,613 3,489 10,857 20,481 24,971

B-5
Table B-1–Continued
Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. imports for consumption, by principal sources, 1997-2001
(1,000 dollars)

Item/country 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Dimethyl terephthalate:
Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 4,672
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 418 954 1,781 946
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 19 17 53 32
Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 171 213 128 22
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 13 294 583 0
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 4 0
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 40 24 7 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 661 1,502 2,556 5,672
Aniline:
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 908 0 2,473
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 42 25
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,868 7,596 6,062 0 9
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 6
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,405 4,176 13 6 3
France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 0 0 0 0
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,757 0 3 2,835 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,360 11,772 6,987 2,884 2,517
Aniline salts:
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 10 10 0 5
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 3
Sweden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 3
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 0 5 3
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 13 10 5 14

6-Hexanelactam (epsilon-
caprolactam):
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,008 3,138 1,824 3,642 2,668
Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 1,629 1,780 837 2,097
Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,432 25,784 811 685 523
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,765 2,003 95 4,709 337
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 117 254 253 253
Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,099 11,011 9,201 350 202
Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,105 21 102 43 123
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,805 8,504 4,514 1,763 9
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,362 52,207 18,582 12,282 6,213
Grand totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 922,767 740,657 777,781 1,200,671 1,020,782
Note.—Due to rounding, totals may not match the sum of all entries.

Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

B-6
Table B-2
Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. exports of domestic merchandise, by principal markets,
1997-2001
(1,000 dollars)

Item/country 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Cyclohexane:
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,465 33,485 37,793 55,355 47,506
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,854 10,023 9,011 37,771 27,729
Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,995 8,635 15,911 25,257 7,071
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 92 134 4,337 1,414
Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 878 10 1,269 430 1,368
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,226 11,576 12,201 12,847 928
All Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,755 3,483 2,143 1,586 1,327
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,208 67,304 78,461 137,584 87,343
Cyclanes, cyclenes and cycloterpenes
(excluding cyclohexane):
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 1,526 536 2,534 6,967
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 223 460 1,030 4,948
France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,992 9,901 5,777 3,547 3,255
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,578 2,836 2,239 1,558 2,890
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,149 1,037 1,716 2,644 2,625
Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,981 2,256 4,380 4,079 2,599
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,889 7,797 8,635 13,151 10,719
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,113 25,576 23,743 28,542 34,003
ortho-Xylene:
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,686 2,027 2,546 15,741 16,577
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,460 2,107 1,300 12,623 2,646
Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 570 3,099 2,496
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,469 1,547 990 0 1,315
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 575 496 518 831
El Salvador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 9
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,727 2,184 2,262 1,000 30
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,572 8,441 8,164 32,982 23,903
meta-Xylene:
Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 21,615 16,297 23,193 14,644
Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 69 32
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 11,074 3,411 0 24
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 0 6 3 7
Trinidad and Tobago . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 8 17 6
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 6 3,094 6 3
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 10 1,278 130 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 32,705 24,094 23,418 14,716
para-Xylene:
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112,815 98,628 121,167 239,020 251,845
Taiwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,651 37,609 30,645 69,917 24,569
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,674 14,676 2,101 18,672 17,441
Pakistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 3,972 3,632 4,831 12,277
Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,185 10,990 13,966 32,704 10,155
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,511 18,558 23,561 51,369 9,743
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,130 43,125 65,675 24,195 17,634
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234,966 227,558 260,747 440,708 343,664

B-7
Table B-2–Continued
Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. exports of domestic merchandise, by principal markets,
1997-2001
(1,000 dollars)

Item/country 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Styrene:
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77,870 92,138 133,104 209,143 182,237
Taiwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,050 38,361 154,230 168,763 59,997
Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,562 39,377 38,999 57,473 44,277
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,484 21,646 32,596 42,984 36,289
Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,871 12,876 18,199 29,237 25,816
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,297 75,939 117,636 125,832 24,804
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98,905 70,729 133,130 288,825 59,558
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391,039 351,068 627,894 922,257 432,977
Ethylbenzene:
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,488 14,229 1,790 4,713 2,956
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445 589 475 458 340
Mexico ..................... 187 282 53 157 226
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 131 126 118 85
Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 136 109 147 82
Germany .................. 0 0 0 63 34
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,768 3,860 3,009 13,090 33
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,003 19,227 5,561 18,745 3,758
Cumene:
Belgium .................... 8,762 2,892 4,834 15,184 24,258
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,108 28,072 22,340 41,993 11,928
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,143 10,900 17,505 22,786 10,392
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,263 1,455 6,235 11,031 8,639
Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 5,575
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 2,540 6,799 0 4,443
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,517 23,623 4,822 32,291 3,136
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,793 69,482 62,537 123,284 68,371
Dodecylbenzene:
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,137 0 20 11 110
Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 142 332 121 60
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 0 0 22 34
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 8
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 5
Barbados . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 4
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 296 45 270 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,512 438 397 424 221
Other alkyl and polyalkyl
benzenes:
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,333 422 3,934 49 15,923
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,389 2,524 2,882 2,125 3,890
Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 9 2,222 90 3,756
France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462 269 509 52 1,848
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 2,390 5 49 1,402
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930 1,043 907 1,284 1,324
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,185 3,739 8,439 4,220 6,326
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,355 10,395 18,897 7,868 34,470

B-8
Table B-2–Continued
Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. exports of domestic merchandise, by principal markets,
1997-2001
(1,000 dollars)

Item/country 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Anthracene, biphenyl and cyclic

hydrocarbons not elsewhere
specified or included:
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819 1,466 5,440 1,579 4,348
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,773 2,611 1,375 3,587 3,763
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,597 2,560 2,066 3,042 3,077
Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414 89 648 5,977 1,796
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 229 76 1,102 1,574
Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,107 1,162 1,332 2,432 1,418
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,140 11,325 12,048 12,035 4,013
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,056 19,441 22,985 29,755 19,989
Cyclohexanol, methylcyclohexanols and
dimethylcyclohexanols:
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 32 131 470
Taiwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10 0 0 157
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 97 49 13 50
Nauru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 16
Qatar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 10
Chile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 4
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 418 208 107 13
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 525 289 251 721
Phenol (hydroxybenzene) and its salts:
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,144 68,547 49,820 61,367 79,808
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,933 9,971 4,183 24,126 21,251
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,012 829 140 12,898 12,324
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,249 950 3,103 7,814 11,111
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 924 0 3,323 8,783 8,232
Argentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,048 5,862 3,169 2,282 5,188
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,487 22,709 18,774 40,670 33,154
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96,797 108,867 82,512 157,939 171,069
Phthalic anhydride:
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,122 9,477 12,740 14,779 12,444
Taiwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,473 1,117 0 0 2,375
Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 127 31 130 151
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333 9 383 1,862 138
Philippines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 15 6 26 20
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 0 6 12 18
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 244 169 4 10
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,338 10,990 13,336 16,813 15,157
Terephthalic acid and its salts:
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80,992 83,199 82,614 79,816 91,001
Argentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 10,744 21,115 0 36,350
Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,989 397 0 0 523
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,752 8.969 5,776 2,713 363
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 11 0 24 14
Dominican Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 11
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88,329 86,740 35,434 6.940 0
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191,064 190,060 144,939 89,492 128,262

B-9
Table B-2–Continued
Organic commodity chemicals: U.S. exports of domestic merchandise, by principal markets,
1997-2001
(1,000 dollars)

Item/country 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Dimethyl terephthalate:
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 9 52 12 985
Taiwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 0 393 2,297 645
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 167 879 246
Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 33
Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 22
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 11 12
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,323 4,751 1,808 192 7
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,603 4,760 2,420 3,391 1,949
Aniline and its salts:
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686 0 3,269 9,375 11,863
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 2,206 0 42 690
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,854 3,584 2,594 3,291 483
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 767 0 0 474
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,783 1,517 1,770 893 433
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 1,402 1,987 1,431 359
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829 1,793 722 912 538
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,526 11,269 10,343 15,944 14,842
6-Hexanelactam (epsilon-
caprolactam):
Taiwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,928 64,593 45,092 58,262 41,535
Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,679 38,438 31,878 29,388 39,423
Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,303 5,022 4,668 3,043 11,834
Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 3,111
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 3 540 6 1,624
Argentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 1,303 1,146
All others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 116 4,026 4,865 244
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119,004 108,172 86,205 96,867 98,916
Grand totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,283,396 1,266,276 1,473,522 2,146,265 1,494,331
Note.—Due to rounding, totals may not match the sum of all entries.

Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

B-10