News of the Week include Crompton & Knowles, Pennwalt, and Rohm & Haas. Crompton & Knowles' earnings increased 36% to $3.63 million on a 16% sales increase to $64.7 million. Pennwalt's earnings climbed 20% to $13.7 million, and sales rose 8% to $312 million. Rohm & Haas posted a more modest 11% increase in earnings to $62.1 million on a 5% sales increase to $597 million. Monsanto and Air Products & Chemicals posted much smaller increases. Air Products' earnings increased 5% to $44.1 million after excluding charges in both the 1986 and 1987 second quarters. Its sales rose 8% to $528 million. Monsanto's earnings increased 4% to $154 million on an 8% sales increase to $2.03 billion. Most of its operating divisions showed declines in operating profit. Because sales increased more rapidly than earnings for both Air Products and Monsanto, profit margins (earnings as a percentage of sales) suffered. Air Products' profit margin fell to 7.8% in this year's second quarter from 8.0% in second-quarter 1986. Monsanto's fell to 7.6% from 7.9%. •
Consensus developing on acid rain control After 16 months of dialogue, opponents and proponents of acid rain control measures have found several areas of agreement that may resolve the long-standing Congressional impasse on this issue. Areas of agreement are spelled out in a report, "Acid Rain: Road to a Middleground Solution," just published by the Center for Clean Air Policy. The center, chaired by former Wisconsin Governor Anthony Earl, is a self-styled Washington, D.C.-based policy research and mediation organization founded by a group of former governors. The report was generated by 30 participants—environmental groups, coal companies, governors' offices, utilities, and consumer groups. The participants first met to design a study of the cost of various control options for the U.S.'s two largest utilities—one publicly owned, the other privately owned. The partici6
July 27, 1987 C&EN
pants then, as Earl explains, used the results of this study as a basis of "discussions aimed at finding common ground." Basically, the participants agree that the federal government must vigorously support programs demonstrating clean-coal technologies. Such technologies can cut control costs and balance coal markets. To p r o d m a t u r a t i o n of these technologies, Congress must write a law with enforceable deadlines for reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, the report says. Phasing in reduction deadlines is essential for achieving an environmentally and economically viable acid rain control program, the report adds. Damage to sensitive lakes and forests can be lessened with smaller, but earlier, reductions. Such cuts can be achieved economically
by switching to lower-sulfur coal and by using lower-emitting plants more frequently than higher-emitting sources. Delaying final reductions until the year 2000 can cut consumer costs and, at the same time, permit the development of clean-coal technology, the report says. The report strongly advocates that states and emitting sources be given maximum flexibility in designing control strategies. It adamantly rejects Congressional legislation mandating that specific technologies be used at each plant to achieve reductions. Because of cost constraints, a study of control costs for nitrogen oxides was not carried out. The acid rain report is available for $15 from the Center for Clean Air Policy, Suite 526, 444 North Capitol St., Washington, D.C 20001. •
Senate passes its version of trade bill The Senate, after four weeks of debate during which more than 150 amendments were considered, has approved the 1000-page Omnibus Trade & Competitiveness Act of 1987. The House passed similar, but by no means identical, legislation on April 30. Differences between the two bills will now be resolved by a House-Senate conference committee, which is expected to begin work after Congress' annual August recess. Noting the sheer size of the bill, Myron T. Foveaux, assistant director of government relations for the Chemical Manufacturers Association and an expert on trade matters, says it would be impossible for the chemical industry to say that it is strongly "for" or "against" the bill, . There are a number of provisions of significant importance to the chemical industry. The industry has advocated an exemption from tariff cuts for certain import-sensitive products in the current round of multilateral trade negotiations. The House bill does not contain such an exemption and, in fact, would allow 60% tariff reductions. The Senate bill, on the other hand, contains "the best achievable language on import-sensitive products," Foveaux says. The industry will work to
maintain that language in the conference committee. Foveaux is pleased that the Senate bill includes ho mention of preshipment inspection companies. These firms are hired by foreign countries to verify that U.S. products being delivered are of the quality and quantity ordered and are being sold at a fair price. The language in the House bill, Foveaux says, "turned out to be so bad that it would have ensured a continuation of the bad practices that are now engaged in by preshipment companies." CMA is also pleased with language in both bills that provides additional, stronger protection for intellectual property rights. It is also glad that provisions in the Senate bill that could have led to imposition of an oil import fee were deleted during floor debate. However, CMA is very concerned about a Senate provision that would require 60 days' advance notice to workers of plant closings and layoffs. The trade bill's future is very uncertain. The Administration has many objections to both the House and Senate versions. And President Reagan has threatened a veto un^less extensive changes are made by a House-Senate conference committee before the bill reaches his desk. •
