European Aluminium welcomes EU, Japan and U.S. agreement to tackle overcapacity issues

European Aluminium, the voice of the entire aluminium value chain, has welcomed the decision made by European Union, Japan and the United States to tackle excess production capacity in key sectors.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, Japanese Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer yesterday agreed to strengthen trilateral cooperation in the WTO and other forums to battle unfair trade.

Gerd Götz, Director General of European Aluminium, said: “The issue of severe excess capacity in key sectors exacerbated by government support was highlighted by important trade authorities. This recognition is great news for our industry as aluminium is one of the sectors affected by government-supported capacity expansion and unfair competitive conditions caused by market-distorting subsidies.”

He further added: “We hope this very timely trilateral agreement will urge G7 and G20 leaders to finally provide a collective response to the aluminium sector by creating a Global Forum on aluminium excess capacity. A Global Forum could help define what excess capacity entails, increase transparent information sharing, and enhance cooperation.”