Who’s Better for the Plastics Industry: Trump or Harris?Who’s Better for the Plastics Industry: Trump or Harris?
Neither presidential candidate has said much of anything on the campaign trail involving the plastics sector, but we can speculate.
October 29, 2024

Party platforms typically don’t get into the granular details of what a presidential candidate would do should he or she win the election, but they do give a general sense of how they might govern. I combed through the published platforms of the Republican and Democratic parties, specifically looking for their stances on manufacturing (the plastics industry is not mentioned in either document).
By one measure, the manufacturing sector writ large has implicitly endorsed the GOP nominee: As we reported in “Manufacturing Sector Firmly in Trump Camp,” campaign contributions from manufacturers overwhelmingly favor Trump by an 80% margin.
What would Trump do?
The “2024 GOP Platform: Make American Great Again!” is short, especially compared with the Democratic Party Platform — about 5300 words for the former as opposed to more than 42,000 words for the latter! It is clearly echoing the voice of Trump, with the repeated use of “common sense” to introduce policy positions, random capitalizations (which I have left as is), and a liberal use of exclamation marks. Here’s what I found to be the most substantive parts of the document as far as manufacturing is concerned:
Republicans will slash Regulations that stifle Jobs, Freedom, Innovation and make everything more expensive. We will implement Transparency and Common Sense in rulemaking.
Republicans will continue forging an America First Trade Policy, standing up to Countries that cheat and prioritizing American Producers over Foreign Outsourcers.
Republicans will pave the way for future Economic Greatness by leading the World in Emerging Industries.
Republicans will bring critical Supply Chains back to the US, ensuring National Security and Economic Stability, while also creating Jobs and raising Wages for American Workers.
By protecting American Workers from unfair Foreign Competition and unleashing American Energy, Republicans will restore American Manufacturing, creating Jobs, Wealth, and Investment.
What would Harris do?
The Democratic Party Platform was drafted before President Biden withdrew from the race, and it is singularly focused on what the party considers to be the achievements of the president’s first term. Much of that, the document argues, would be stripped away under a Trump presidency. The implicit message is that a Democratic president would continue to champion these policies.
First, this caveat: What Harris would do remains a bit of an open question. She has “evolved” on a number of issues, notably fracking, and, as PlasticsToday columnist John Spevacek noted in his recent article, plastic straws. She was apparently against them before she was for them.
Harris also has said on separate occasions that she can’t think of anything she would have done differently from Biden while she was vice president but also that her presidency would not be a continuation of the Biden presidency.
That being said, the 2024 Democratic Party Platform still stands as a statement of principles. Here are excerpts that have a direct relationship to manufacturing:
Democrats are [. . .] taking historic steps to bring home critical supply chains, and to reaffirm our nation's leadership in cutting-edge industries.
The President's Investing in America agenda has incentivized a historic $877 billion in private funding across the United States to date. Companies are investing hundreds of billions more than under Trump to build new factories.
We've designated more than 30 tech hubs in communities from Reno, Nevada; to Charlotte, North Carolina; to North Central Pennsylvania.
Under President Biden, we've also boosted funding for the kind of research and development that can seed economy-transforming breakthroughs, like the internet. In recent years, America became one of the world's only major countries to pull back on R&D investments; Democrats are changing that.
President Biden believes that you shouldn't have to go to a four-year college to live a good, middle-class life. Democrats are working to make sure that every American can access these quality new jobs, where many people can earn over $100,000 a year. The American Rescue Plan supported more than 4,300 state- and local-government workforce development programs.
We have a million trainees enrolled in registered apprenticeships today. Apprenticeships have long provided a reliable path to the middle class, empowering workers to earn while they learn, not only in traditional trades, but also in new cutting-edge industries.
Neither candidate has said much, if anything, about the plastics industry on the campaign trail. But that hasn’t stopped some media outlets and random pundits from speculating on their intentions.
Federal recycling bill called plastics industry's Project 2025
In an article published on Oct. 23, “The Plastics Industry’s Wish List for a Second Trump Administration,” nonprofit investigative media outlet ProPublica reported on a federal recycling bill filed recently that is endorsed by the American Chemistry Council, calling it a template for the types of regulatory rollbacks and industry-friendly provisions that could be adopted by the Trump administration without congressional approval. Critics, writes ProPublica reporter Lisa Song, have characterized it as the plastics industry’s Project 2025, referencing the controversial document drafted by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, which some are calling a blueprint for a second Trump term. (Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, but dozens of former Trump administration officials have contributed to the proposals, multiple media outlets have reported.)
In the view of its critics, the pro-recycling claim hides the bill’s true intent, which is to increase the use of chemical recycling. In their eyes, chemical recycling is inefficient and economically unviable. (To be fair, even some “friends” of the industry agree with that assessment). Trump himself has said nothing about this bill, chemical recycling, or, as previously noted, the plastics industry that I can find.
Like Trump, Harris is largely silent on these issues on the campaign trail, but she did co-sponsor the federal Break Free From Pollution Act, which would have phased out numerous single-use plastic products. She also sued and investigated petrochemicals companies while she was attorney general of California. I think it’s safe to presume that she would largely follow in Biden’s footsteps and would not rescind efforts to phase out federal procurement of single-use plastics.
A consequential shift in US policy
More consequential is the recent policy shift of the US government supporting a reduction in the production of new plastics ahead of the next and final round of the United Nation’s global treaty talks on plastic pollution. To the best of my knowledge, Harris has not voiced an opinion on this, but the shift did happen during her vice presidency. Given Trump’s antipathy toward multilateral agreements and the expectation that he would undo much of the Biden administration’s legacy, it’s hard to imagine that he would pursue this goal should he win the election.
Needless to say, I’m looking at this through a very narrow prism. There are many other monumental issues to consider before casting a vote for either candidate, and I won’t insult your intelligence by reiterating them here. One thing is certain: It appears that this election will be a real nail-biter to the bitter end. And let me conclude with one distressing thought: The nail-biting may not end on Nov. 5.
About the Author
You May Also Like