News Release

October 13, 2011 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Dow Congratulates U.S. Congress for Approving FTAs

MIDLAND, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dow Chemical Company today congratulated the House and Senate for passing the U.S.-Colombia, South Korea and Panama Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris made the following statement:

“This is an historic step forward for the U.S. and our economy, as America has now made great strides in re-establishing its commitment to open trade, global markets and leadership on high-standard trade agreements. We congratulate the entire Congress, particularly the House Ways & Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, for their stewardship and priority given to approve these job-creating agreements.”

The FTAs are a key element in an advanced manufacturing strategy that supports U.S. corporate engagement in the global market while enabling companies to create jobs and sponsor new investments in America. Last year, for instance, U.S. companies sold $10.7 billion of manufactured goods to Colombia, but paid a staggering $1.5 billion in tariffs. Not only does this tie up a significant amount of money that could be better spent here at home, but these high tariffs therefore unnecessarily and unfairly weaken demand by artificially raising the cost of U.S. products.

“We welcome the continued efforts of the Administration and Congress to re-establish the U.S. as a major trade player,” continued Liveris. “It is our expectation that these agreements be only the beginning of a new era of U.S. leadership on trade. As a member of the President’s Export Council, I look forward to the continuation of our work with the U.S. Government to promote open markets for U.S. exports, trade and investments.”

About The Dow Chemical Company

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2010, Dow had annual sales of $53.7 billion and employed approximately 50,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 35 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

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