Item 7A. . QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

Although the Company does not face material risks related to commodity prices, the Company is exposed to changes in interest rates and in foreign currency rates with respect to foreign currency denominated operating revenues and expenses.

Foreign Currency

The Company incurs translation gains or losses resulting from the translation of an operating unit’s foreign functional currency into U.S. dollars for consolidated financial statement purposes. For the periods presented, the Company’s principal foreign currency exchange exposures are the Euro, the functional currency of our European operations; the Canadian dollar, the functional currency of our Canadian operations; and the Australian dollar, the functional currency of our Australasian operations. We monitor our foreign currency exposures and from time to time, we enter into currency forward contracts to manage our exposure to currency fluctuations. Foreign currency exchange exposure, particularly in regard to the Canadian and Australian dollar and, to a lesser extent, the Euro, negatively impacted our results for the year ended December 31, 2019. Foreign currency exchange exposure, particularly in regard to the Canadian and Australian dollar and, to a lesser extent, the Euro and Mexican peso, positively impacted our results for the year ended December 31, 2018.

During 2019 and 2018, it was estimated that a 10% shift in exchange rates between those foreign functional currencies and the U.S. dollar would have impacted translated net sales by approximately $513 million and $486 million, respectively. A 15% shift in exchange rates between those functional currencies and the U.S. dollar would have impacted translated net sales by approximately $770 million in 2019 and $729 million in 2018. A 20% shift in exchange rates between those functional currencies and the U.S. dollar would have impacted translated net sales by approximately $1,026 million in 2019 and $972 million in 2018.

Interest Rates

The Company is subject to interest rate volatility with regard to existing and future issuances of debt. We monitor our mix of fixed-rate and variable-rate debt as well as our mix of short-term debt and long-term debt. From time to time, we enter into interest rate swap agreements to manage our exposure to interest rate fluctuations. Based on the Company's variable-rate debt and derivative instruments outstanding as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, we estimate that a 100 basis point increase in interest rates would have increased interest expense by $5.5 million in 2019 and $12 million in 2018. However, these increases in interest expense would have been partially offset by the increases in interest income related to higher interest rates.