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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PLASTICS INDUSTRY WELCOMES "MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH" ON CHINA'S CURRENCY

WASHINGTON (July 21, 2005) - The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. (SPI) today welcomed as "a major breakthrough" China's announcement that it will revalue its currency effective immediately and described it as the first of an expected series of steps that could be of great benefit to the plastics industry.

"This is a limited but very important step in the right direction," said SPI president Bill Carteaux. "It is also a step that was badly needed. China's previous insistence on keeping the value of the yuan pegged to the dollar had become untenable. The new flexibility announced today will begin to ease pressure on all American manufacturers."

"The immediate revaluation of 2.1 percent is less important than the prospect of further revaluations under the system that China announced this morning," said Carteaux. Its currency will be evaluated on a daily basis, which means that it could soon reach a level that could have a significant positive impact on prices of both Chinese imports and American exports."

The move could benefit the economies of both nations, Carteaux said, while reducing the overall US trade deficit with Asia. He welcomed the fact that Malaysia had immediately followed the Chinese action by ending that currency's peg to the dollar.

"Today's announcement is just the beginning," Carteaux said. "Over the next weeks and months we can expect to see other currency revaluations that will bring greater equilibrium in world trade and greater opportunities for American manufacturers. This can only be good news for the plastics industry - and it is something SPI has been working to achieve for several years."

Carteaux paid tribute to other industry groups that had also fought hard for the revaluation, and acknowledged in particular the industry-wide leadership provided by the National Association of Manufacturers. He also thanked Congress and the Administration for their efforts. "This is a good day for America," he said. "The system worked."

Founded in 1937, The Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., is the trade association representing one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States. SPI's members represent the entire plastics industry supply chain, including processors, machinery and equipment manufacturers and raw materials suppliers. The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.4 million workers and provides nearly $310 billion in annual shipments. For more information, visit SPI on the Web at www.plasticsindustry.org.

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