U.S. Officially Announces 15% Tariff on EU Automobiles! LANXESS Sells Stake in Envalior; Lubrizol Boosts Investment in China

International News Roundup:

Raw Material News: LANXESS Plans to Sell Entire 40.94% Stake in Envalior! Transaction Value Up to $1.4 Billion

Packaging News: U.S. Packaging Firm Axium Packaging Expands Plastic Recycling Capacity in Ontario

Medical News: Lubrizol Deepens Localization Strategy to Empower High-Quality Development of China’s & Global Healthcare Industry

Automotive News: U.S. Officially Announces Implementation of U.S.-EU Trade Deal, Imposing 15% Tariff on EU Automobiles

Other News: Senior Architectural Systems Recycles Waste Polyurethane Foam from Insulated Window & Door Manufacturing

Macroeconomic News: Goldman Sachs Expects Emerging Market Stocks & Currencies to Rise by Year-End

Price News: Ethylene Asia: CFR Northeast Asia $845/ton; CFR Southeast Asia $840/ton

Details of International News:

LANXESS Plans to Sell Entire 40.94% Stake in Envalior! Transaction Value Up to $1.4 Billion

LANXESS has recently decided to exercise its contractual right to sell its entire 40.94% stake in Envalior to a holding company under its joint venture partner Advent International. Subject to the availability of financing, the joint venture partner is obligated to acquire all or half of the stake held by LANXESS starting from April 1, 2026. Whether the stake sale can be completed and the proportion to be completed will be determined by March 2026 at the latest. The contract stipulates that the base purchase price for the proposed stake sale is approximately €1.2 billion. This price is derived from the valuation of the "High Performance Materials Division" injected by LANXESS when the joint venture was established in the spring of 2023.

France Supports Local Plastic Recycling! Carbios Restarts This PET Chemical Recycling Project

Plastmatch learned on September 25 that Carbios recently announced it expects to restart the construction of its PET chemical recycling plant in Longlaville, France, by the end of 2025. The French biotech company stated that France’s new regulations on local production of recycled plastics are an important driver for its re-investment in the project. In January this year, due to delayed funding, Carbios postponed the construction plan of this PET depolymerization plant by 6 to 9 months.

KraussMaffei to Launch Three-Layer PVC Pipes with Up to 100% Recycled Content at K 2025

At K 2025 (October 8-15) held in Düsseldorf, Germany, KraussMaffei Extrusion will launch a new three-layer pipe head. This head can safely and stably process pipes containing up to 100% recycled content, sending a clear signal for improving resource conservation in the pipe manufacturing industry and adapting to the growing demand for the circular economy. The KM-3L RK 42-HP model is not an upgrade based on existing designs, but a brand-new product developed from scratch through redesign and simulation. Its processing capacity ranges from 400 to 1,200 kg/hour, and the pipe diameter covers 110 to 250 mm, making it very suitable for large-scale industrial production scenarios.

U.S. Packaging Firm Axium Packaging Expands Plastic Recycling Capacity in Ontario

Axium Packaging, an Ohio-based packaging company, now has the capacity to store and use plastics with recycled content at a new 225,000-square-foot factory near Toronto. The new factory is equipped with 10 plastic resin storage tanks, 3 of which are used to store post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics. Axium Packaging stated that up to 30% of its packaging product line uses PCR plastics.

Röhm Expands Worms Production Base to Strengthen Global Production Network

With the successful commissioning of a new sulfuric acid plant at its Worms, Germany production base, Röhm has further consolidated its global production network layout. As Röhm’s largest global production base, Worms occupies a crucial strategic position in the global network. Currently, the new sulfuric acid plant, completed in just one and a half years of construction, has been officially put into operation. It comprehensively enhances the regional MMA supply capacity with advanced technology and efficient operations, replacing the old facility damaged by fire at the end of 2023. Sulfuric acid is a key precursor for MMA production, and MMA is an important basic chemical needed by customers in industries such as automotive, construction, and medical technology, as well as the core raw material for PMMA.

Lubrizol Deepens Localization Strategy to Empower High-Quality Development of China’s & Global Healthcare Industry

On September 25, Lubrizol, a global leading specialty chemicals company, announced two key initiatives to strengthen its long-term commitment to China’s healthcare industry. Lubrizol is actively expanding its local production capacity of medical-grade thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and has officially established the "Lubrizol High-Performance Membrane Technology Excellence Center". These two initiatives further strengthen Lubrizol’s strategic layout of "taking innovation as the engine, localization as the foundation, and synergy as the path", fully demonstrating its firm commitment to serving the global market and meeting the evolving needs of customers. These initiatives directly respond to the growing demand for high-quality medical materials in the Chinese market and will accelerate the development and commercialization of advanced medical membrane technology.

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies Plans to Acquire DMH Group

Recently, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, a seal manufacturer, announced plans to acquire the DMH Group. This acquisition marks an important milestone in the strategic development of Freudenberg’s service business. The transaction is still subject to antitrust approval. The DMH Group has recently achieved annual sales of tens of millions of euros, with production bases in Austria (2 locations) and the United States (1 location), and employs approximately 200 people. The DMH Group specializes in the production of high-quality customized sealing solutions based on thermoplastics and elastomers, as well as metal components and molds. The company provides a full range of manufacturing processes and can be equipped with CNC machine tools to help customers produce high-precision seals independently. It also has mature software solutions to achieve high customization of sealing systems.

Senior Architectural Systems Recycles Waste Polyurethane Foam from Insulated Window & Door Manufacturing

Senior Architectural Systems, a leading UK manufacturer of aluminum window and door solutions, is about to launch a new waste reduction program to fulfill its commitment to recycling and strive to achieve a fully closed-loop recycling process. This new program will fully recycle and reuse the polyurethane foam waste generated during the production of Senior Architectural Systems’ low U-value PURe® aluminum windows and doors. During the manufacturing of PURe® aluminum windows and doors, approximately 80 tons of polyurethane foam waste are generated annually. This waste comes from the thermal barrier processing link: to prevent cold spots during the curing process, additional polyols and isocyanates need to be injected, ultimately forming a new thermal insulation barrier with lower U-value and better thermal insulation performance.

U.S. Officially Announces Implementation of U.S.-EU Trade Deal, Imposing 15% Tariff on EU Automobiles

According to CCTV News, the U.S. Trump administration issued an official announcement on September 24 (local time) to implement the trade deal reached between the United States and the European Union, confirming that it will impose a 15% tariff on automobiles and automotive products imported from the EU starting from August 1. In addition, the document also lists tariff exemptions for certain pharmaceutical compounds, aircraft parts, and other imported goods. On July 27 (local time), U.S. President Trump stated that the United States had reached a new trade deal with the EU, imposing a 15% tariff on EU goods imported into the United States. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the 15% tax rate is the best result the European Commission can achieve.

Overseas Macroeconomic Market:

EU New Car Registrations Rise in August

European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA): EU new car registrations increased by 5.3% in August, reaching 677,786 units. Tesla’s new car registrations in the EU fell by nearly 37% in August. BYD’s new car registrations in the EU increased by 201% in August.

Goldman Sachs Expects Emerging Market Stocks & Currencies to Rise by Year-End

Goldman Sachs stated that driven by favorable macro conditions, position trends, and positive seasonal factors, emerging market stocks and currencies will rise by the end of the year. Fed rate cuts, a weaker U.S. dollar, and capital inflows have maintained a favorable macro environment, and the fourth quarter usually has a seasonal positive effect. Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month target for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index from 1,370 points to 1,480 points, implying an upside potential of approximately 10%. It continues to be overweight on China and South Korea, while maintaining an overweight position on South Africa.

Price Information:

RMB/USD Central Parity Rate

The central parity rate of RMB against the U.S. dollar was reported at 7.1118, down 41 pips; the central parity rate of the previous trading day was 7.1077, the official closing price of the previous trading day was 7.1219, and the night session closing price was 7.1315.

Upstream Raw Material USD Market Prices

Ethylene Asia: CFR Northeast Asia 845 USD/ton; CFR Southeast Asia 840 USD/ton.

Propylene Northeast Asia: FOB South Korea average 760 USD/ton; CFR China average 795 USD/ton.

North Asia frozen cargo CIF: Propane 534-535 USD/ton; Butane 550-551 USD/ton.

South China frozen cargo CIF for late October: Propane 581-591 USD/ton; Butane 561-571 USD/ton.

Taiwan region frozen cargo CIF: Propane 534-535 USD/ton; Butane 550-551 USD/ton.

LLDPE USD Market Prices

Film: 860-910 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Injection Molding: 1010 USD/ton (CFR Dongguan);

HDPE USD Market Prices

Film: 910-980 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Blow Molding: 855 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Injection Molding: 830-850 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Pipes: 1010 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

LDPE USD Market Prices

Film: 1070-1115 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Coating: 1280 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu).

PP USD Market Prices

Homopolymer: 855-925 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Copolymer: 875-900 USD/ton (CFR Nansha);

Film Grade: 1010-1030 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Transparent Grade: 985-1050 USD/ton (CFR Huangpu);

Pipe Grade: 1100 USD/ton (CFR Shanghai).