Top Story

• ACC urges U.S. free-trade pact with Europe
  Chemical makers are seeing a "robust and comprehensive" trade agreement with the EU as a way to increase U.S. chemical exports. "The U.S. chemical industry is now one of the lowest-cost producers in the world," said American Chemistry Council President and CEO Cal Dooley. "Free-trade agreements are absolutely essential" for U.S. product exports, said ACC board Chairman, Craig Morrison, who is also CEO of Momentive Performance Materials. Chemical & Engineering News (2/11)     

• Read more from ACC on its new report, "Keys to Export Growth for the Chemical Sector"      

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• Cybersecurity bill to be reintroduced in House ahead of executive order
  House Intelligence Committee leaders this week will reintroduce a bill that aims to stop cyberattacks by making it easier for businesses to share threats and malicious source codes with federal intelligence agencies. The bill failed last year after criticism from the White House and privacy advocates. The administration is expected to issue an executive order on cybersecurity this month, according to Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del. The Hill/Hillicon Valley blog (2/10)     

• ACC criticizes proposed Calif. changes to fire-safety law
  California is proposing changes to fire-safety regulations for upholstery fabric -- a move that could lead manufacturers to discontinue the use of flame retardants in baby products and furniture. "Regrettably, if this proposed regulation moves forward, it will reverse a fire safety standard that has provided an important layer of protection to Californians for over 35 years," said Bryan Goodman of the American Chemistry Council. San Francisco Chronicle (2/8)     

• Read ACC's full statement and learn more about the importance of California's open flame test      

• Lower energy costs can be a boon for chemical manufacturers
  Increased U.S. energy production is important for adding U.S. jobs and keeping costs down, industry executives say. "The primary driver right now [for] the manufacturing industry is energy costs. When you look at those potential opportunities to build new chemical plants, to expand steel capacity, bring home a lot of those jobs that left over the past decade, the primary driver is the cost of energy," said American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard. FoxNews.com (2/8)     

• Other News

• Interior rule would allow FracFocus as a reporting mechanism
  EENews.net (free content)/EnergyWire (2/8)     

• Senate committee hearing on LNG exports is set for Tuesday
  EENews.net (subscription required) (2/11)     

• Company proposes polyethylene plant in W.Va.
  PlasticsNews.com (2/8)     

• Honeywell scouts M&A of less than $1 billion per deal
  Bloomberg Businessweek (2/8)     

• Dow Chemical technology key to 2014 Winter Olympics
  Dow Chemical is supplying the 2014 Winter Olympics with insulation, ice-surfacing enhancement and polymer silicone for data management. "We are extremely proud of our science and technology-based contributions that enable more sustainable, safer and higher-performing venues at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games," said Arthur Eritspokhov, executive director of Dow's Russian Winter Olympics unit. Midland Daily News (Mich.) (2/10)     

• How to develop the next generation of capable leaders
  Succession planning shouldn't be a matter of who is next in line, but who is best prepared for a senior position, John Baldoni writes. Employers must work to develop leaders through a variety of work assignments, coaching and exposing them to increasing levels of responsibility, he writes. Harvard Business Review online/HBR Blog Network (2/7)     

• ACC Weekly Economic Report
  The economic reports this week were mixed. Consumers continue to take on more debt, a sign that the household deleveraging has ended and that the household spending is taking over as an economic driver. The trade deficit shrank to its lowest level since the global recession due in part to surging exports of petroleum products and the lowest oil imports in more than 15 years. This reflects the growing impact of unconventional energy development from shale in the U.S. Abroad, global manufacturing expanded and signals that the downturn in global manufacturing ended in December. Stay informed. Subscribe to ACC's Weekly Economic Report.     

• ACC membership grows
  The American Chemistry Council's board of directors has approved the addition of three manufacturing member companies, two Affiliate member companies, one Associate member company and one Responsible Care Partner company. The Industrial Metal Catalyst Manufacturing Group also joined as a new product and market sector group under ACC's Chemical Product and Technology Division. Learn more about ACC membership and Affiliate membership. Read more on ACC's new members.     

Top five news stories selected by ACC SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• BASF, Lanxess consider U.S. petrochemical facilities (The Wall Street Journal/CFO Journal)

• Occidental plans Texas ethylene facility (Bloomberg Businessweek)

• Obama reportedly favors air chief McCarthy to lead EPA (Reuters)

• LyondellBasell scraps plans to expand Texas propylene production (ICIS News (U.K.))

• Eastman considers building Texas derivatives unit (ICIS News (U.K.))

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. ... The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them." --George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright