Could lifting of PET tariff exemption help domestic recyclers?

Reciprocal tariff exemptions for U.S. imports of virgin and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) have been lifted, according to a Sept. 8 executive order, and cautious optimism has followed.

Resin imported under harmonized system (HS) codes 39701.61 and 39701.69 now will face a higher duty, though specific rates have yet to be disclosed by the Trump administration as of press time. Recycled PET (rPET) does not have its own HS code and falls under the classification of its virgin counterpart.

Despite the uncertainty, Sally Houghton, executive director of the nonprofit PET Recycling Corp. of California, says the removal of the exemption could “level the playing field and restore competitiveness” for reclaimers across the United States who have dealt with a multiyear influx of low-cost resin.

“The glut of cheap imports made it difficult for domestic reclaimers to compete, and this was compounded by the high bale prices from 2024 to mid-2025 due to Mexico’s increase in capacity and bale demand,” Houghton tells Recycling Today. She adds that since May, there has been a “significant change” with Mexican buyers backing off and bottle bale prices falling from around 29 cents per pound to about 11 cents per pound as of early September.

Even with this relief in feedstock prices, the domestic industry, including Mexico, could not compete with the cheap imports of both rPET and virgin, Houghton says.

“Mandated content does not require the rPET to be domestically sourced, so end buyers chose the cheaper option, and packaging manufacturers opted to buy cheap virgin to lower their overheads,” she adds. “It will be interesting to see whether the tariffs change procurement choices and provide some much-needed relief to the domestic reclamation industry.”

The change in the tariff regimen comes at a time when the U.S. is considered a major importer of plastic scrap. According to ICIS, a London-based commodities consulting firm, the U.S. took in a record 250,961 tons of PET in 2024.

Citing U.S. International Trade Commission data in a September report, ICIS writes that imports of PET and rPET are 8 percent higher this year compared with the same period of 2024.

“U.S. PET recyclers are under heavy pressure from a surge of low-cost imported material and an oversupply of virgin plastic—pressures compounded by brands abandoning recycled-content commitments in favor of virgin plastic and choosing imported rPET rather than from domestic recyclers,” the Association of Plastic Recyclers, Washington, says in a statement.