Polyethylene carrier bags are cheap and economical to transport, leading to disagreements between industrialised and developing countries. In June 2003, five North American plastics processors (PCL Packag- ing , Sonoco Products , Superbag , Vanguard Plastics and Interplas Group ) joined forces to form a committee, the Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bag Committee, to take anti-dumping action against cheaper shopping bags imported from China, Thailand and Malaysia, which were causing an annual loss of US$300 M in sales. In the US, 100 Billion PE carrier bags are used each year.