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Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Contingencies
CONTINGENCIES
Tredegar is involved in various stages of investigation and remediation relating to environmental matters at certain current and former plant locations. Where the Company has determined the nature and scope of any required environmental remediation activity, estimates of cleanup costs have been obtained and accrued. As efforts continue to maintain compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations, additional contingencies may be identified. If additional contingencies are identified, the Company’s practice is to determine the nature and scope of those contingencies, obtain and accrue estimates of the cost of remediation, and perform remediation. The Company does not believe that additional costs that could arise from those activities will have a material adverse effect on its financial position. However, those costs could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows at that time.
The Company is involved in various other legal actions arising in the normal course of business. After taking into consideration the relevant information, the Company believes that it has sufficiently accrued for probable losses and that the actions will not have a material adverse effect on its financial position. However, the resolution of the actions in a future period could have a material adverse effect on quarterly or annual operating results at that time.
From time to time, the Company enters into transactions with third parties in connection with the sale of assets or businesses in which it agrees to indemnify the buyers or third parties involved in the transaction, or in which the sellers or third parties involved in the transaction agree to indemnify Tredegar, for certain liabilities or risks related to the assets or business. Also, in the ordinary course of its business, the Company may enter into agreements with third parties for the sale of goods or services that may contain indemnification provisions. In the event that an indemnification claim is asserted, liability for indemnification would be subject to an assessment of the underlying facts and circumstances under the terms of the applicable agreement. Further, any indemnification payments may be limited or barred by a monetary cap, a time limitation, or a deductible or basket. For these reasons, Tredegar is unable to estimate the maximum amount of the potential future liability under the indemnity provisions of these agreements. The Company does, however, accrue for losses for any known contingent liability, including those that may arise from indemnification provisions, when future payment is probable and the amount is reasonably estimable. The Company discloses contingent liabilities if the probability of loss is reasonably possible and material.
In 2011, Tredegar was notified by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“U.S. Customs”) that certain film products exported by Terphane Ltda. to the U.S. since November 6, 2008 could be subject to duties associated with an anti-dumping duty order on imported PET films from Brazil.  The Company contested the applicability of these anti-dumping duties to the films exported by Terphane Ltda., and it filed a request with the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) for clarification about whether the film products at issue are within the scope of the anti-dumping duty order.  In December 2014, the U.S. International Trade Commission separately voted to revoke the anti-dumping duty order on imported PET films from Brazil. On February 20, 2015, certain U.S. producers of PET films filed a summons with the U.S. Court of International Trade to appeal the determination by the U.S. International Trade Commission. After lengthy litigation, on June 19, 2018, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled in favor of Terphane Ltda. by upholding the determination by Commerce that Terphane Ltda.’s films are outside the scope of the anti-dumping duty order.  The plaintiffs chose not to appeal the U.S. Court of International Trade’s opinion affirming Commerce’s scope ruling.  On September 4, 2018, the plaintiffs filed to dismiss their appeal of the December 2014 decision that revoked the anti-dumping duty order on PET films from Brazil.  The U.S. Court of International Trade issued an Order of Dismissal on September 5, 2018.  The litigation has now ended.