Aluminium exporters to the US fear losing business by dint of the ’25 tariff. What’s the reality after 3 months of tariff imposition?

The United States’ aluminium supply chain, a backbone for its automotive, construction, and packaging sectors, has been jolted once again by Washington’s swing back to protectionist trade policy. On March 12, 2025, the Trump administration reinstated a 25 per cent blanket tariff on all aluminium imports. Gone are the country-specific exemptions that had cushioned critical trading relationships. The move, though positioned as a nationalist push to strengthen domestic production and protect strategic industries (in the name of national security), is already sending ripple effects across global suppliers and US aluminium traders.

For many of the top US importers who have built long-term supply relationships and optimised costs around global sourcing, this isn’t just a policy hiccup, but a survival concern.

According to data published by Observatory of Economic Complexity, in 2024, the United States imported USD 27.4 billion worth of aluminium articles, being the 20th most imported product (out of 97). Canada alone accounted for 40.68 per cent of this, equivalent to roughly USD 11.47 billion. China followed at 10.85 per cent (USD 3.07 billion), while Mexico (holding 6.53 per cent at USD 1.83 billion), the United Arab Emirates (which holds 4.5 per cent of the total import at USD 1.19 billion), and South Korea (USD 928 million) trailed closely. The reimposed tariffs, uniformly applied without country-specific waivers, are effectively reshuffling the cards of US aluminium trade. Each of these nations, once a mainstay in America’s aluminium supply network, now finds its pricing competitiveness compromised.