Political leaders in Europe must boost availability of cheap energy and deregulate or risk deeper deindustrialization, according to Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman.

- AI will require vast amounts of cheap energy, Europe disadvantaged

- EU energy policies have closed access to huge reserves of oil and gas

- Europe has outsourced manufacturing, often to more polluting regions

- CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) does not work, increases costs of imported raw materials

- Tackle climate change through use of innovative materials, nuclear fusion

- Tariffs are hurting any nascent economic recovery

- Don’t expect strong economic bounce back in 2026

- US reshoring will drive industrial and chemicals demand

- China-driven overcapacity will persist for several years

ICIS journalist Will Beacham interviews Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman

European phthalic anhydride (PA) reporter Gabrielle Jordan and plasticizers reporter Marion Boakye discuss market developments into Q4, highlighting key talking points from the European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) annual meeting held from 22–25 September in Berlin, Germany.

Demand in both markets is expected to remain subdued into 2026, with sentiment for the coming year projected to closely mirror 2025 levels.

Topics discussed include:

• Subdued downstream demand
• Local supply and import flows
• Market expectations for 2026

Podcast by Marion Boakye and Gabrielle Jordan

SINGAPORE (ICIS)- In this chemical podcast, Senior editors Emily Friedman and Arianne Perez discuss the implications of recently added reciprocal tariffs on the recycled PET (R-PET) markets in the US and Asia.

• US buyers continue navigating supply needs, tariff cost sharing
• Asia prices fall to record lows as US-bound exports contract
• US short term fundamentals unchanged, though prices gradually move up