Norway’s aluminium exports up 31% YoY in 2017

Norway on Tuesday filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the US President Donald Trump's aluminium and steel tariffs, Reuters reported. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide said that 10 per cent tariff on aluminium and 25 per cent tariff on steel violate WTO rules.

"In Norway’s view, the additional tariffs imposed by the US on steel and aluminium imports are a violation of the WTO rules. Today we have therefore requested dispute settlement consultations with the US in the WTO," she said in a statement.

Norway’s export of aluminium to the USA declined last year. The USA imported an estimated 767 tonnes of aluminium in 2017, down from 7439 tonnes in 2016. In 2018, the export to the USA is estimated to be about 15634 tonnes, unless it is affected by the import tariffs.

Aluminium exports from Norway are witnessing a volume-wise growth year-over-year since the last three years. As shown in our trade data, Norway exported an estimated 1.2 million tonnes of aluminium in 2016. The amount increased 31 per cent year on year to reach 1.63 million in 2017. The total export volume is expected to stand at 1.64 million tonnes in 2018.

In 2016, value of the total exports of this product stood at US$2.4 billion, which increased to reach US$3 billion in 2017. In 2018, the value is estimated to reach US$30 billion by the end of this year.

Norsk Hydro is the single most dominant player in the country’s aluminium sector.  The company is the largest aluminium producing country in Western Europe, and almost 80-90 per cent of its output is exported to the international market.