FACE: “The EU-Canada raw materials alliance is an opportunity for Europe’s aluminium industry. Supply security must cover the entire value chain”

FACE – Federation of Aluminium Consumers in Europe welcomes the commitments made by the European Union and Canada in their joint statement, Canada and the European Union Building Together an Alliance for the Future, which strengthens cooperation on economic security, supply chain resilience and access to strategic raw materials.

Of particular significance is the commitment to accelerate investment in critical raw materials projects across the entire value chain: from extraction to processing, refining and manufacturing, through to recycling. The statement also envisages exploring tools to strengthen security of supply, including the stockpiling of strategic resources, and promoting greater integration of value chains across the Atlantic. 

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“This is a step in the right direction,” said Mario Conserva, Secretary General of FACE, “because it recognises that raw material security cannot be addressed solely in terms of resource availability, but must take the entire industrial value chain into account. For Europe, it is essential to safeguard companies’ ability to process these resources, thereby generating added value, employment and industrial development.”

For FACE, the next priority must be to ensure that this new phase of cooperation explicitly includes aluminium. The EU-Canada statement identifies critical raw materials as a priority area for the new alliance, but does not specifically mention the metal. Future initiatives and investment projects must therefore take into account the needs of the entire European value chain, including downstream processors and independent SMEs.

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Europe’s aluminium industry is facing two closely interconnected challenges: its heavy dependence on imports of primary aluminium and the growing outflow of scrap from the European market. Against a backdrop of increasing international instability and competition for access to metal, Europe must be able to rely on diversified and secure sources of primary aluminium, while at the same time retaining sufficient scrap to support recycling and secondary production.

“We cannot talk about strategic autonomy and raw material security without addressing the actual supply conditions faced by European companies. Primary and secondary aluminium are complementary and must both be at the heart of an industrial strategy for the aluminium sector.”

Against this background, FACE reiterates its call for the EU to abolish import duties on primary aluminium and adopt effective measures to address the outflow of scrap from the Union.

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“Europe’s industrial security depends on its ability to guarantee companies stable and competitive access to both sources of supply. This is essential to safeguarding the competitiveness and future of the entire value chain,” Conserva concluded. 

Note: This article has been shared by FACE and has been published by AL Circle with its original information without any modifications or edits to the core subject/data.