Chemical Giants Utilize Lobbying

The recent disclosure reports have revealed that lobbying is a frequent phenomenon with the chemical giants such as DuPont (DD - Analyst Report) and Eastman Chemical (EMN - Analyst Report).

The second quarter report suggested that DuPont spent more than $1.2 million to lobby on biotechnology, trade, taxes and more. During April-June, the company also lobbied Congress, the White House and a number of federal agencies including the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense and Treasury on chemical plant security, patent reform, energy efficiency and climate change.

On the other hand, Eastman, the Tennessee-based manufacturer of coatings and specialty plastics spent $270,000 lobbying the federal government on clean energy, antitrust and other issues. During April-June, the company also lobbied Congress and the Energy Department on legislation dealing with industrial gasification incentives, shareholder rights as well as antitrust and labor issues.

The chemical industry is susceptible to environment-based litigation. This has prompted many chemical companies to seek safe haven through lobbying. Further, the global economic recession has generated weak demand across most of the U.S. markets. This has led the chemical companies to engage in lobbying to maintain their market share.

Read the full analyst report on DD

Read the full analyst report on EMN