ILMA Compoundings - February 2021 - 14

Leiter said some states have been critical of the slow pace
with which the EPA has regulated the PFAS issue. " In the
absence of federal action, you have state action, " Leiter said.
There is also likely to be a long-awaited uptake to the
OSHA Hazard Communication Standards (HCS), which
have been ready for about three years but have not yet seen
the light of day, Howell said. " I would expect that set of
revisions to the Hazard Communication Standards to be published in the Federal Register sometime soon, and perhaps in
the first quarter, " he said. " That will start a process where the
HCS is updated to have the regulation match more carefully
with the current Globally Harmonized Standard. "
Overall, Howell expects to see more movement from
OSHA. " It will take some time to get administrators named
and have the department secretaries confirmed, but I would
expect a much more active OSHA, " Howell said.
That activity could include increased emphasis on
COVID-19-related issues within workplaces, Howell said.
" For ILMA member companies, because by and large they
pay attention to health and safety, they'll likely be ready for
the changes, and it is not something they'd be surprised at, "
Howell said.
Some states, including California and Oregon, have made
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and
OSHA COVID-19 guidelines mandatory. " We might see
something from OSHA making these guidelines have more
teeth. I think you'll see enforcement stepped up, " Leiter said.
OSHA's COVID-19 regulations are some of the strictest
out there compared to nonessential businesses, Jones said.
" OSHA guidelines were strict, and we followed those, " he
said. " We have the right records and policies. "
CLIMATE CHANGE
The Biden administration is expected to focus on reducing
emissions, and both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have discussed transitioning away from oil and looking
for new cleaner options. " His big plan is to steer away from
fossil fuels and look at alternative energies, " Leiter said. " The
expectation is that it will be an anti-carbon administration. "
Howell said a transition would take 15-20 years. " I think
Biden is serious about global warming and the change away
from fossil fuels, which will take place over decades, " he said.
Morgan said that for the incoming administration, energy
and climate are almost synonymous. " I think we'll see quite a
few new actions to energy policy under the administration, "
he said, adding that Biden has already signaled that a day-one
priority will be to get the U.S. back into the Paris Agreement,
a legally binding international treaty on climate change. " I
think that will be followed by new regulatory policies. "
Woll said Biden has talked about reaching net-zero
carbon emissions within the power sector by 2035 and

FEBRUARY 2021

| COMPOUNDINGS | ILMA.ORG

economy-wide by 2050. However, the question is how that
will be achieved.
John Spearin, corporate manager for August Mack,
expects Biden to be more of a centrist than supporters of the
Green New Deal, an ambitious and expensive plan to move
the U.S. away from fossil fuels and slash greenhouse gases.
Morgan said that Biden understands how vital the petroleum
and lubricants industry is to the economy. " I think, broadly, the
oil and gas sector is a very big jobs creator and was one of the
biggest sectors during his vice presidency, " he said.
Eggenschwiler believes there will be some moderation
because there are numerous industries that rely on petroleum. " If the petroleum industry is reduced substantially,
other prices will go up because there will be less petroleum
available, " he said.
The Biden campaign has indicated that there will be
no new oil leases on federal property or waters, Levetown
said. " Biden has also said there will be a move away from
fracking, " he added. " He has said he is going to eliminate
coal and gas subsidies. "
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The trade war has affected international relations. " Biden
said he wants to reset relations with a number of countries,
including possibly China, " Leiter said.
Biden's position is that there will be less punitive trade
practices. " He recently said he is going to keep the Phase 1
trade deal signed in January 2020 in place and keep tariffs in
place, " Levetown said. " It isn't clear if he means all of them, "
he added. " I think it is fair to say tariffs won't increase,
barring something extreme. "
Eggenschwiler said he believes Biden's general inclination is
to either try to negotiate a reciprocal relaxation of the tariff war
or perhaps even unilaterally reduce tariffs on U.S. imports from
China as a goodwill gesture. Then he will start talking about
reciprocal relaxation of tariffs. " If tariffs relax, that should lead
to a better economic impact in the U.S., both from an export
standpoint and an import standpoint, " he said.
Biden hasn't favored tariffs or punitive trade measures.
" No doubt there will be complications to addressing existing
tariffs, but, overall, we're optimistic that we can make good
policy in that area, " Morgan said, adding that Biden has
been known throughout his career as pro-trade. " We know
we're not going to see eye to eye on every issue, but trade is
one area where we think we can align. "
Eggenschwiler said the Biden administration might make
unilateral changes and go back to participating in the Iran
nuclear deal. The deal, which Trump withdrew from in
2018, was initially reached during the Obama administration in 2015.

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