Shanghai -- In view of the deepening trade friction between China and the United States and the possibility of the two countries adding high tariffs to their respective plastics trade, many people expressed concern at Chinaplas.
Dr. Cui Xiaojun, CEO of KraussMaffei Group China, the machinery manufacturer of injection molding machinery in Germany, said: 'If the trade war really starts, we will be affected. We are ready. However, as you know, these are only Explore. So far, everything hasn't happened.'
Especially those participants who are closely related to China and the United States expressed their concerns about the business during the discussion on the trade war. However, most of the interviewees interviewed at the Shanghai exhibition from April 24 to 27 Still have hope for good results.
Keith Boss, president of Guangzhou-based Tech-Long Packaging Machinery Co., Ltd. in the Americas, said that since 2012, the company has made huge investments in the US market and will not give up.
He said: 'If this happens, we must stand the test of the crisis. I believe this is a negotiation. The final problem will be solved and it will not be as bad as it is now.'
Trump said on April 24 that he will send four senior officials to China in early May to negotiate with China.
On the other hand, tariffs and anti-tariffs proposed so far by Washington and Beijing may reshape the market to a large extent.
Tariff threat up to 25%
In early April, the U.S. government threatened to impose a 25% tariff on the 58-page list of goods, including a variety of Chinese-made plastic machines -- injection molding machines, blow molding machines, extruders, and thermoforming Machine, and mold.
In 2016, China’s trade surplus with the United States on plastic machinery, molds and plastic products was US$212 million, US$375 million and US$12.3 billion, respectively.
In response, China responded by threatening to levy tariffs on a variety of plastic materials made in the United States. In 2016, US companies’ trade surplus with China was 2.7 billion U.S. dollars.
According to the American Chemistry Council (ACC), about 40% of the retaliatory tariffs against China are chemicals or plastic materials.
In general, the senior executives of exhibiting companies all hold opposing tariffs, as everyone expects at a large-scale trade show that faces the world.
According to Zhu Kangjian, chairman of Guangzhou-based Bochuang Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. and leader of the China Plastics Machinery Industry Association, 'If the war in the trade war starts, the entire plastics machinery industry will be affected.'
He said: 'This has a negative effect on all parties. If the United States has a lot of plastic machinery manufacturers, then I can understand the logic from a trade protectionist's standpoint. However, many US molders use imports. Machinery, costly tariffs will be borne by consumers in the United States.
Opportunities in other regions
But there are also people who see the opportunity. Amaplast, the Italian plastics and rubber processing machinery and mold industry association, issued a statement on April 26 stating that the association saw opportunities from China's machinery that may be imposed a tariff of 25%.
Amaplast said: 'U.S. production is not enough to meet the country's domestic demand. The reduction of vacancies caused by the reduction of Chinese imports can be used by Italian companies to increase their sales.'
At Chinaplas, most of the top executives including Zhu Kangjian expressed hope that Beijing and Washington will finally make concessions.
According to Deng Yu, chief executive of Hong Kong-based machinery manufacturer Datong Machinery Co., Ltd., the company's direct exports to the United States are not large, but they are worried that their Chinese customers will be affected.
He said: 'We can see from the list that the goods subject to tariffs are mainly parts and components, so it will not cause too much impact on our customers. But I can already perceive the confidence of our customers in various industries and their Confidence in investment has been affected.'
He said: 'Compared to the same period of last year, I was not so optimistic about the situation in the second half of this year.'
A similar opinion was expressed by Christian Kohlpaintner, Executive Committee Member of the Swiss specialty chemical manufacturer Clariant International Ltd.
The company, which has operations in 52 countries, said it is still evaluating potential impacts. However, he believes that talks on tariffs and trade conflicts may undermine business confidence.
He said: 'These discussions will have a greater impact on the overall business climate index. People are more uncertain about what will happen.'
Some senior Chinese executives who went to participate in the 2018 US NPE Plastics Industry Exhibition stated in private that potential tariffs prompted them to analyze the business plan in depth.
However, another part of the executives reiterated that they would work on the U.S. market.
Tech's Boss said: 'We are an honest company that operates according to global standards. Our backup plan is to have a firm market and competitive pricing. If this means adjusting our pricing, hopefully this is not a long-term one. Situation. '
He said: "The majority of the machinery and equipment of Tech-Long's beverage or liquid packaging department is not produced locally in the United States. Our competitors mainly come from Europe.'
Stephen Chung, executive director of sales and marketing and executive director of Hong Kong-based machinery manufacturer Chenxiong Group Co., Ltd., and director of sales and marketing, shared the views of many at the show. He expressed the hope that this comprehensive trade war would be avoided.
Chung said: 'Trump has talked a lot. But whether or not the conversation will evolve into actual actions that cause consequences and costs remains to be seen.