Japan aluminium industry urges U.S. to abandon tariffs plan

Japan’s aluminium industry is urging Trump to not advance with his tariffs plan, saying the action will damage country’s business and will increase uncertainty for future trade relations. U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week that he will impose a 10 per cent tariff on imported aluminium and a 25 per cent on imported steel to protect U.S. producers.

“We want Trump to abandon the plan,” Yoshihisa Tabata, executive director of the Japan Aluminium Association told Reuters on Monday. “The U.S. is the second-biggest exporting market after China for Japanese aluminium producers and the high duties will directly impact on their business.”

Japan produced 2.07 million tonnes of rolled and extruded aluminium in 2017. The country shipped about 27,000 tonnes to the United States last year.

He said, “If the new tariffs were slapped, low-end commodities among Japanese aluminium products will be quickly replaced by U.S.-made products although high-end aluminium may take a while to be switched.”

"Producers and buyers will have to face unexpected changes in aluminium prices and premiums going forward.”