European Aluminium expects Europe should be next to be exempted from 10% tariff on aluminium

European Aluminium expects that Europe should be the next to be exempted from 10% tariff on aluminium products after the lifting of 232 tariffs on aluminium from Canada and Mexico, a press statement from the association says.

Commenting on the matter European Aluminium Director General Gerd Götz said:

“The EU is an important ally of the U.S. and a trusted and stable supply source for aluminium. European imports in no way represent a threat to the national security of the U.S. In this respect, we support the European Commission’s negotiation position to lift the Section 232 tariffs as a pre-requisite of any trade deal with the U.S.”

Producers now have a global value chain and their operations are not limited to one country. Hence, the Association believes transatlantic trade flows are vital to the smooth operations of the global aluminium industry.  

“The root cause of the main challenges faced by the aluminium industry is global overcapacity, in particular in China due to state intervention. Addressing this overcapacity requires a global negotiated solution and revision of WTO subsidy rules. European Aluminium and its members support a multilateral solution to tackle overcapacity,” Götz added.

OECD has explained how Chinese overcapacity and state sponsored production has created distortions in the global aluminium value chain in a report published in the beginning of 2019. The report specified that out of the total state support provided to the global companies, about 85% has been offered to five Chinese companies.

European Aluminium has been constantly fighting against global aluminium overcapacity  and advocating for a globally negotiated solution to tackle the issue lobbying with its U.S., Canadian, Japanese, Mexican and Brazilian counterparts.