PLASTICS MANUFACTURING MATTERS: A PETITION TO CONGRESS

SPI spearheaded a petition to congress, collecting more than 11,000 signatures from representatives throughout the plastics industry. The petition stressed the importance of the plastics manufacturing industry to the nation's economy, and sought policy changes that will help the industry remain viable in an increasingly competitive global market. Industry data shows that U.S. plastics, the nation's fourth-largest manufacturing sector, providing more than 1.5 million jobs and contributing over $320 billion in annual shipments, has seen a significant economic downturn in the past few years. According to SPI research, the plastics product industry's $894-million trade surplus has plummeted to a $1.4-million trade deficit in just two years, due in part, according to the petition, to a weakened economy and deleterious domestic and international trade policies that have forced plastics processors out of business or offshore.

Through the petition, SPI worked to unify the voice of the plastics industry and sought to bring to the attention of lawmakers and policymakers the urgent need to examine the factors that are causing the U.S. manufacturing industry to be less competitive worldwide. In the appeal to Congress, the petition called for six specific measures to be taken to ensure the future of plastics in the U.S. The petition to Congress was developed as part of SPI's ongoing efforts to address the issue of global trade policies that impact plastics manufacturers and to increase awareness of the plastics industry's wide-reaching impact on the U.S. economy as a whole.

Growing industry concern about China's increasing role in the global plastics market and the future viability of the U.S. plastics sector precipitated a series of events, beginning with a "China Fly-In" in June, 2003, in Washington, and culminated in the creation of the industry-wide petition. SPI kicked-off the campaign for signatures during NPE 2003, June 23-27, 2003, in Chicago and continued the grassroots effort to collect signatures throughout the summer. SPI compiled the 11,000 signatures from plastics industry leaders and presented the petition to Congress, the White House and key regulatory agencies during its September board meeting.

Click here to learn more about the Plastics Manufacturing Matters! petition.

Back to Top

More Business Development:   Trade Shows . Worker Training . Financial Management . Literature Catalog