National Waste & Recycling Association

US lawmakers press USTR to curb PET and rPET import surge

Five members of the US Congress have written to the Office of the US Trade Representative asking it to address imports of virgin and recycled PET within its Section 301 investigations into global excess capacity. The letter cites the loss of more than a quarter of US PET recycling capacity in the past 12 months, with seven of about 30 domestic reclaimers closing, and calls for targeted trade remedies and stronger import traceability rules.

Why this mattersTrade action on PET and rPET imports would reshape feedstock economics for US bottle and packaging recyclers and their brand-owner customers.

• Reps. Nick Langworthy, Mike Ezell, Diana Harshbarger, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Jefferson Shreve sent the letter to USTR earlier in September 2026
• More than one-fourth of US PET recycling capacity has been lost in the past 12 months
• Seven of approximately 30 domestic PET reclaimers have closed, later reduced to six after Niagara Bottling acquired rPlanet Earth's assets in May 2026 and said it would reopen the facility
• Letter asks USTR to examine Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Thailand and South Korea over PET manufacturing overcapacity
• Cites HTS subheadings 3907.61, 3907.69 and 3907.99.50 as candidates for trade remedies
• European Union has already imposed definitive antidumping duties on PET imports and Canada has opened its own dumping and subsidy probes into PET resin

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