FEPAC delegation goes to Washington

A delegation of Quebec plastics industry representatives that met with government officials and other plastics association members in Washington D.C. to discuss legislation and possible partnerships is being hailed as a successful venture.

The November 18-19 mission to the U.S. capital was an official venture between the government of Quebec and the Federation des Plastiques et Alliances Composites (FEPAC), a nonprofit organization designed to bring together companies in the plastics and reinforced plastics industries.

FEPAC delegates included Bernard Poitras, president of the board of FEPAC and Plastiques MICRON, Sylvia Debrecenni, François Chevarie, Jean-François Hamel and Pierre Fillion, as well as Mark Badger, president and CEO of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.

While in Washington, the group met with William Carteaux, president of the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), and Tom Dobbins, executive director of the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA). According to Bernard Poitras, the meeting with Dobbins was intended to discuss possible partnerships between FEPAC and the ACMA. “FEPAC’s network will be kept informed in the upcoming months on the status of the discussions,” Poitras said.

The group also met with U.S. and Canadian commercial advisors, including Jean-Philippe Linteau, senior trade commissioner at the Canadian Embassy in Washington. The principal objective of this meeting, according to Poitras, was to discuss the potential impacts of the U.S. government’s “Buy American” and “Buy America” legislation on Canadian and Quebec businesses.

The “Buy American Act” requires the U.S. government to prefer U.S.-made products in its purchases. The “Buy America Act”, meanwhile, sets requirements for 100 per cent U.S. content for iron/steel and manufactured products.  

“This official mission has contributed to enlarge FEPAC’s contacts in the United States, and to seek a permanent communication and collaboration with SPI and ACMA for some mutual benefits,” Poitras explained. “Our offensive to the United States does not stop only in Washington, and two other industrial networks in the plastics and composites were identified and will be subject to some development in the near future.”