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.
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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.
Take Canada, for example. As a next-door ally and part of the USMCA trade bloc, Canada had previously enjoyed tariff exemptions under the Trump-era Section 232 framework. But with the new policy eliminating carve-outs, even Canada is back in the firing line. The same action for all attitude of the US puts more than four decades of seamless aluminium trade at risk that has benefitted both economies.
Canadian smelters, many of whom had tailored their production volumes around US demand forecasts, are now left grappling with surplus inventory and margin erosion.
Jean Simard, President and CEO of the Aluminium Association of Canada, had expressed concerns that these tariffs would adversely affect Canadian aluminium workers and lead to increased prices for American consumers. The tariffs have disrupted the integrated North American aluminium supply chain, cultivated over a century, leading to financial strain on Canadian producers.
Alcoa, a major player in the Canadian aluminium industry, reported a USD 20 million hit from tariffs in the first quarter of 2025, with projections of an additional USD 90 million in costs for the second quarter. While some costs are being passed on to customers, the company acknowledges that this strategy cannot fully offset the financial impact.
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