Business briefing for April 28

Tariffs start to push up chemical costs New US tariffs—10% on goods from most countries and 145% on goods from China—are starting to trickle through the US chemical industry and leading a few chemical users to impose tariff surcharges on their products to pass along the added costs. The institutional cleaning and water treatment firm Ecolab is imposing a 5% surcharge on all its products and services in response to the new duties. “We cannot fully mitigate these increases, necessitating adjustments in our pricing,” Ecolab CEO Christophe Beck says in an announcement. Another water treatment firm, Solenis, is applying a minimum 5% surcharge. The company says it is “prioritizing localized production to reduce exposure to international cost swings.” And the polyol business of the Swedish specialty chemical maker Perstorp says it will institute surcharges in the US that will vary by product and country of origin.—ALEX TULLO Chemtrade to keep