July 10, 2024
(press release)
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The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) commends the Biden administration’s proclamation (READ THE PROCLAMATION HERE) to strengthen the rules for aluminum to qualify for trade benefits between the United States and Mexico. Under this proclamation, aluminum must be "smelted and cast" not from countries of concern (Belarus, China, Russia, and Iran) to qualify for relief from the Section 232 Tariff. The "smelted and cast" requirement prohibits preferential treatment for imports where the primary country of smelt, secondary country of smelt, or country of most recent cast was Belarus, China, Russia, or Iran. "The AEC thanks the Biden Administration for its support of the industry," said Jeff Henderson, AEC President. "This is a good initial step by the Administration to address the unfair trade taking place, on the road to an overall North America smelted and cast requirement in USMCA." Henderson said. "The AEC and its members look forward to continuing our work with the administration on matters of fair trade," said Jason Weber, AEC Vice President of Operations and Government Affairs. "The smelted and cast requirement negotiated here as part of the 232 program recognizes the inherent unfair trade taking place when our trading partners can process highly distorted and subsidized metal from countries like China and Russia, and the adverse effects it has on the U.S. aluminum extrusion industry." The U.S. government is also currently investigating unfairly traded Mexican imports of aluminum extrusions in ongoing antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) cases, and it imposed preliminary duties earlier this year. Today's announcement on the "smelted and cast" requirement, together with critically important AD/CVD duties on aluminum extrusion imports from Mexico, will help shield American extruders and their workers from the harmful impacts of unfair trade.
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