Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Note 21 - Commitments and Contingencies

v3.20.4
Note 21 - Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Notes to Financial Statements  
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

21. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

 

Purchase Commitments

 

We have various purchase commitments extending through 2039 for materials, supplies and services entered into in the ordinary course of business. Included in the purchase commitments table below are contracts which require minimum volume purchases that extend beyond one year or are renewable annually and have been renewed for 2020. Certain contracts allow for changes in minimum required purchase volumes in the event of a temporary or permanent shutdown of a facility. To the extent the contract requires a minimum notice period, such notice period has been included in the table below. The contractual purchase prices for substantially all of these contracts are variable based upon market prices, subject to annual negotiations. We have estimated our contractual obligations by using the terms of our current pricing for each contract. We also have a limited number of contracts which require a minimum payment even if no volume is purchased. We believe that all of our purchase obligations will be utilized in our normal operations. We made minimum payments of $2 million, $1 million and nil for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, under such take or pay contracts without taking the product.

 

Total purchase commitments as of December 31, 2020 are as follows (dollars in millions):

 

Year ending December 31,

       

2021

  $ 1,413  

2022

    982  

2023

    818  

2024

    696  

2025

    648  

Thereafter

    1,924  
    $ 6,481  

 

Legal Matters

 

We are a party to various proceedings instituted by private plaintiffs, governmental authorities and others arising under provisions of applicable laws, including various environmental, products liability and other laws. Except as otherwise disclosed in this report, we do not believe that the outcome of any of these matters will have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.