WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 7, 2020) – The American Chemistry Council (ACC) issued the following statement in response to the 2020 Presidential election results:
“ACC and our member companies congratulate President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris on a fair and transparent historic and hard fought victory. As always, we stand ready to constructively engage with the White House and bipartisan leaders in Congress to help drive the solutions for a future that will better serve all Americans – one that is safer, healthier, stronger, and more sustainable.
“The innovative $565 billion business of chemistry and the 544,000 highly-skilled men and women of our industry will work with the Biden/Harris administration and leaders on Capitol Hill to continue our leadership role on the front lines of the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by helping to make medical supplies and equipment, including protective gear like masks and face shields, as well as cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting solutions.
“Maintaining the vitality of our industry and its ability to produce these life-saving materials means maintaining access to our country’s vast shale gas resources. Thanks to these resources the chemical industry continues to drive a manufacturing renaissance yielding $205 billion in new chemical industry projects in the United States with the potential to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and nearly $290 billion in new economic output. We look forward to partnering with the Biden/Harris administration and members of both sides of the aisle in Congress to ensure the right policies are in place to support sensible, science-based regulations and robust and responsible energy and infrastructure development that will keep our industry and our economy on a path to strong growth.
“With $136 billion in exports, American chemistry is one of our nation’s largest exporting industries. Robust trade in raw materials and finished products helps fuel the growth of our sector here at home – but current costly tariff policy continues to cut into our industry’s competitive advantage. We strongly urge President-elect Biden and his administration to chart a different path for U.S. trade policy. Reducing trading costs and promoting a more predictable trading environment can help rebuild our economy, continue to attract investment in the U.S. and ensure that America can maintain its position as one of the world’s leading innovators.
“We share with President-elect Biden and all Americans, a commitment to health and safety, in all that we do. The U.S. chemical industry is five times safer than the manufacturing sector as a whole, and we have reduced emissions of hazardous air pollutants by nearly 50 percent over the last two decades. We look forward to working together to explore ways the public and private sectors can collaborate to protect public health and the environment.
“These are core principles that drive the development of our industry’s many innovative products and technologies. As critical components of renewable energy sources, electric and high-efficiency vehicles, and building materials that reduce energy consumption, the products and technologies made possible by the U.S. chemical industry will be vital as we pursue a more sustainable future in which businesses and American workers are positioned to thrive.”