Part II ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS,  continued 2017 versus 2016 Loss on Early Extinguishment of Debt Interest Expense 2018 versus 2017 2017 versus 2016 Provision for Income Taxes on Continuing Operations 2018 2017 Sundry income (expense) - net was an income of $224 million and expense of ($113) million for the period September 1 through December 31, 2017 and for the period January 1 through August 31, 2017, respectively. Sundry income (expense) - net was income of $667 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The 2017 charges are described above. The year ended December 31, 2016 included a pre-tax gain of $369 million associated with the sale of Historical DuPont ("Shenzhen") Manufacturing Limited entity, royalty income of $170 million, a net exchange loss of $106 million and a non-operating pension and other post employment cost of $40 million. In the Successor periods, royalty income is included in net sales. See Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of the changes in presentation. See Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information. The company recorded a loss from early extinguishment of debt of $81 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, primarily related to the difference between the redemption price and the aggregate amount of the Tender Notes purchased in the Tender Offer, mostly offset by the write- off of unamortized step-up related to the fair value step-up of Historical DuPont’s debt. Additional information regarding the company’s Early Tender Settlement can be found on pages 20 and 29 of this report and Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional. Interest expense was $331 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, $107 million for the period September 1 through December 31, 2017, and $254 million for the period January 1 through August 31, 2017. The change was primarily driven by amortization of the step-up of debt as a result of push-down accounting, partially offset by higher borrowing rates. Interest expense was $107 million for the period September 1 through December 31, 2017, $254 million for the period January 1 through August 31, 2017, and $370 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The change was primarily driven by amortization of the step-up of debt as a result of push-down accounting, partially offset by higher debt balances. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the company’s effective tax rate of (4.6) percent on pre-tax loss from continuing operations of $4,793 million was unfavorably impacted by the non-tax-deductible impairment charge for the agriculture reporting unit and corresponding $75 million tax charge associated with a valuation allowance recorded against the net deferred tax asset position of a legal entity in Brazil, costs associated with the Merger with Dow (including a $74 million net tax charge on repatriation activities to facilitate the Intended Business Separations), a $121 million net tax charge related to completing its accounting for the tax effects of the Act (see Note 9 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional detail), and the impacts related to the non-tax-deductible amortization of the fair value step-up in DuPont’s inventories as a result of the Merger. For the period September 1 through December 31, 2017, the company’s effective tax rate of 168.5 percent on pre-tax loss from continuing operations of $1,586 million was favorably impacted by a provisional net benefit of $2,001 million that the company recognized due to the enactment of The Act, a net benefit of $261 million related to an internal legal entity restructuring associated with the Intended Business Separations, as well as geographic mix of earnings. Those impacts were partially offset by the non-tax deductible amortization of the fair value step- up in Historical DuPont’s inventories as a result of the Merger, certain net exchange losses recognized on the remeasurement of the net monetary asset positions which were not tax deductible in their local jurisdictions, as well as the tax impact of costs associated with the Merger with Historical Dow and restructuring and asset related charges. 27