Coast Southwest Joins Coalition for Affordable Ingredients

Coast Southwest, Inc., an ICIS Top 100 Chemical Distributor and manufacturer of chemical ingredients, has joined the Coalition for Affordable Ingredients (CAI).

CAI is an alliance of American manufacturers, farmers and downstream producers that depend on imported vegetable-based fatty acids to make everyday consumer products. CAI says it opposes the antidumping and countervailing duty petitions filed against fatty acid imports from Indonesia and Malaysia and advocates for affordable, reliable access to the certified ingredients American industry requires. 

By joining CAI, Coast Southwest adds the voice of the personal care supply chain, and the workers and consumers who depend on it, to a coalition that already spans chemical manufacturers, food and dairy producers and household cleaning suppliers.

“Coast Southwest has been in business for more than 40 years, and today we employ roughly 110 Americans across 11 states,” said Joseph C. Cimo, president of Coast Southwest. “The vegan, kosher, and cruelty-free ingredients our customers demand are made from plant-based fatty acids that we cannot source at the scale or certification standards they require here at home. One company’s petition threatens to raise costs on the everyday products families count on and put jobs like ours at risk. That is why Coast Southwest stands with the Coalition For Affordable Ingredients.”

On its website, CAI states that it members are “united in opposing AD/CVD petitions filed” that “if acted upon, would impose devastating tariffs on these imports and cause lasting harm to U.S. manufacturers, farmers, consumers, and jobs. Pushing significant price increases on to the US consumer.”

The petitions seek proposed duties ranging from roughly 70% to more than 90%, according to CAI. The US Department of Commerce has already imposed a 16.5% duty on these imports because of the case, with additional duties expected in the coming months, notes Coast Southwest.

Further, Coast Southwest notes that the targeted ingredients cannot be sourced domestically at the scale, nor under the certifications that customers require. Domestic tallow-based production does not meet certifications currently, and it can take a year or more to secure those certifications.

More information on CAI and its position can be accessed here.