Section 232 Expansion - Industry Impact Assessment Survey

Introduction

The Plastics Industry Association is conducting this survey to assess the unintended impacts of the Section 232 expansion on steel and aluminum derivatives across the plastics supply chain.

Your participation is essential. Specific, quantifiable data—capital expenditures, cost increases, workforce numbers, delays—along with anecdotal examples will help us clearly demonstrate how these tariffs affect U.S. plastics manufacturers.

All responses will be kept strictly confidential. No company names will be published or attributed; findings will be presented as profiles and trends drawn from the survey.

Your input will directly inform our advocacy with the Administration and Congress, ensuring they understand both the scale and nature of the challenges facing our industry.

Thank you for contributing to this important effort on behalf of U.S. plastics manufacturing.

1.Company Profile
Please identify your company’s primary facility locations in the US (city/state) and the approximate number of current jobs at these sites.

2.Capital Expenditures
How has the Section 232 expansion impacted your company’s capital investments (e.g., delayed purchase of new machinery, plant upgrades, facility expansions)?

No impact

Minor delays/adjustments

Significant delays/reductions

Cancellations of projects

Please quantify delays, cancellations, or reductions (e.g., dollar amounts, % changes).

3.Equipment, Inputs, and Auxiliary Parts
Have you experienced difficulties accessing key machinery, inputs, auxiliary parts, or robotics (e.g., injection molding machines, extruders, tooling, control systems)?

No difficulty

Moderate difficulty

Severe difficulty

Please quantify impacts (e.g., % cost increase, added lead time, number of canceled orders).

4.Cost Impacts
What level of cost increases has your company experienced due to the tariffs on steel/aluminum derivatives? Please provide approximate % increases and/or dollar values.

None

<5% increase

5-15% increase

>15% increase

Please provide approximate % increases and/or dollar values.

5.Jobs & Workforce
Have the tariffs directly impacted your workforce (e.g., hiring freezes, layoffs, reduced hours, unfilled skilled positions)?

No impact

Moderate impact

Significant impact

Please quantify (e.g., # of jobs affected, % of workforce).

6.Contractual & Customer Obligations
Have tariffs created challenges in meeting contractual obligations (e.g., pricing adjustments, delays, penalty risks)?

Yes - minor challenges

Yes - major challenges

Please quantify impacts (e.g., # of contracts affected, % cost escalation, # of delayed shipments).

7.Forecasting & Planning
How has the tariff expansion affected your business forecasts for the next 12–24 months?

No change

Lowered growth expectations

Significant scaling back

Considering relocation/reshoring adjustments

Please provide % reductions in growth expectations, revenue forecasts, or investment plans.

8.Supply Chain & Lead Times
Have you observed changes in supplier reliability, lead times, or availability of imported equipment/parts since the expansion?

No changes

Moderate delays

Severe disruptions

Please quantify (e.g., additional weeks/months, % increase in lead times).

9.Investment & Competitiveness
Have the tariffs made it more difficult for your company to remain competitive globally or invest in U.S. operations?

No impact

Somewhat more difficult

Significantly more difficult

Please quantify (e.g., % market share at risk, % increase in overseas competition, reduced U.S. investment dollars).

10.Additional Impacts & Anecdotes
Please share any other unintended or adverse impacts—financial, operational, workforce, innovation, or otherwise—that your company has experienced. Anecdotal examples are especially valuable, but please include specific data wherever possible (e.g., “delayed $10M facility upgrade by 18 months”).