Description of the Company and Basis of Presentation (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

The preparation of unaudited interim consolidated financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of net sales, expenses and allocated charges during the reporting period. Significant estimates pertain to impairments of goodwill, intangible assets and other long-lived assets, purchase price allocations, restructuring costs and other (charges) gains, net, income taxes, pension and other postretirement benefits, asset retirement obligations, environmental liabilities and loss contingencies, among others. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Pension and Other Postretirement Plans, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Change in estimate regarding pension and other postretirement benefits

Beginning in 2016, the Company elected to change the method used to estimate the service and interest cost components of net periodic benefit cost for its significant defined benefit pension plans and other postretirement benefit plans. Previously, the Company estimated the service and interest cost components utilizing a single weighted average discount rate derived from the yield curve used to measure the benefit obligation at the beginning of the period. The Company has elected to use a full yield curve approach in the estimation of these components of net periodic benefit cost by applying the specific spot rates along the yield curve used in the determination of the benefit obligation to the relevant projected cash flows. This change improves the correlation between projected benefit cash flows and the corresponding yield curve spot rates and provides a more precise measurement of service and interest costs. This change does not affect the measurement of the Company's total benefit obligations as the change in service and interest cost will be completely offset in the annual actuarial (gain) loss reported. The Company has accounted for this change as a change in estimate and, accordingly, has accounted for it prospectively beginning in 2016. The Company's adoption of the full yield curve approach will reduce 2016 service and interest cost by approximately $29 million as compared to the previous method.

The discount rates used to measure service and interest cost during 2016 and the discount rates that would have been used for service and interest cost under the Company's previous estimation methodology are as follows:



	Pension Benefits		Postretirement Benefits
	US	International	US	International
	(In percentages)
Single weighted average discount rate approach
Service and interest cost	4.2	2.6	4.0	3.6

Full yield curve approach⁽¹⁾
Service cost	4.5	3.1	4.2	3.8
Interest cost	3.4	2.2	3.1	3.1

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⁽¹⁾	Represents the weighted average effective interest rate.

Schedule of Assumptions Used [Table Text Block]



	Pension Benefits		Postretirement Benefits
	US	International	US	International
	(In percentages)
Single weighted average discount rate approach
Service and interest cost	4.2	2.6	4.0	3.6

Full yield curve approach⁽¹⁾
Service cost	4.5	3.1	4.2	3.8
Interest cost	3.4	2.2	3.1	3.1

______________________________


⁽¹⁾	Represents the weighted average effective interest rate.

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for pension and other postretirement benefit plans. This accounting policy may address (1) the types of plans sponsored by the entity, and the benefits provided by each plan (2) groups that participate in (or are covered by) each plan (3) how plan assets, liabilities and expenses are measured, including the use of any actuaries and (4) significant assumptions used by the entity to value plan assets and liabilities and how such assumptions are derived.

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