Aluminium industry from Europe, USA and Canada stand in unison during Section 232 hearing

US Department of Commerce held a public hearing on June 22 on the Section 232 Investigation into the impact of aluminium imports on US national security. The aluminium industry from Europe, USA and Canada has come together to testify at the Section 232 hearing.

Aluminum Association President Heidi Brock testified along with 11 of the member companies representing the US aluminium industry. The association is advocated for a few key principles around the Section 232 investigation:

• Aluminum production and products support U.S. national security and the Defence Industrial Base
• Any final action in this investigation should provide solutions to the true underlying problem of Chinese aluminium overcapacity
• The investigation should exempt Canadian imports and other foreign producers such as the European Union as they have practised fair trade and never encouraged overcapacity.
• Administration actions on aluminium should consider the effects on both primary and downstream producers

Gerd Götz, Director General of European Aluminium also testified on behalf of the European aluminium industry.

He highlighted three key elements for the US Administration to take into account: 

• European imports of aluminium pose no threat to US national security and should be excluded from any proposed action under the current Section 232 Investigation.
• The American and European aluminium industries are strongly interlinked in their day-to-day business.
• The common threat of Chinese aluminium overcapacity requires a strong US-Europe coalition to reach a solution to this global risk.

In his testimony Gerd Götz stated: “European Aluminium shares the concerns of the US government regarding the significant Chinese aluminium overcapacity and its impact on the US and European industries, despite the healthy demand for aluminium worldwide.”

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“However, we are concerned that measures, as the ones that seem to be under consideration under the current 232 investigation on national security, will not provide the lasting solution needed by our markets and may have unintended negative consequences for integrated aluminium supply chains. In any event, European aluminium imports should not be the subject to proposed measures under the Section 232 investigation on national security, since they do not represent a threat to US national security.”

He concluded urging for a smooth collaboration between the US and Europe to find a sustainable solution to the issue.