US industrial policy needs to be systematic, not just ad hoc – Part 1
Our current approach can win economic skirmishes, but not the geopolitical conflict. – Part 1 After decades during which the very concept was taboo and the reality swept under the rug, the US has now rediscovered industrial policy. But this rediscovery remains incomplete, as too much of it is...
US-Canada trade conflict widens as Canada hits US aluminium imports with 50% tariffs
Canada's retaliatory tariffs on US goods, including aluminium and steel products, take effect as Washington intensifies pressure on Canadian industry. Canada is escalating its trade confrontation with the United States, imposing tariffs of up to 50 per cent on US imports worth CAD 27.6 billion (USD...
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Indian govt actively considering aluminium industry's wish to raise import duty
Government of India finally seems to be waking up to the crisis situation which domestic aluminium industry is going through. Union Minister for Steel and Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar said, "Dumping by China is a big reason. They are selling for lower than their production cost. It may be their...
Indian govt should take measures to curb Chinese aluminium imports: MD, Hindalco Industies
Debnarayan Bhattacharya, managing director at Aditya Birla Group company Hindalco Industries, sounded genuinely concerned about Indian government's role in reducing the worries of the domestic aluminium industry players who are badly hit by Chinese imports and aluminium price freefall. In a recent...
Aluminium Federation SA begs National Energy Regulator to review its cost recovery strategy
Power utility Eskom will know in a matter of weeks whether its attempt to recover R22.8 billion for cost recovery and revenue adjustments is successful. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) hearings on Eskom’s regulatory clearing account (RCA) ended on Friday and the regulator...
US sets new deadline for investigating China aluminium extrusions
The U.S. Department of Commerce has set a new deadline of February 22 to decide whether to investigate allegations that a Chinese aluminium extruder evaded U.S. import duties, a spokesperson said yesterday. New deadline comes after Commerce Dept. asked Aluminum Extrusions Fair Trade Committee to...
India mines ministry proposes increase in aluminium duty
The ministry of mines in India has proposed a hike in import duty on aluminium to 7.5% from 5% now, and a correction of the inverted duty structure in the industry, in its pre-Budget communication to the finance ministry. If the proposals are implemented, domestic aluminium makers such as Hindalco,...
China found guilty of dumping aluminium extrusion products in TT
According to the preliminary findings of an anti-dumping investigation by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Trinidad and Tobago, China is guilty of dumping metal products in the country. The action has been determined to have caused “injury” to local enterprise involved in the marketing of...
Indian aluminium in 2016: can a turnaround happen?
Aluminium producers in India are looking to the US and other export markets with hope in the new year, after the double whammy of cheap Chinese imports and low prices for the silver -white metal for almost all of 2015. As in other countries, the overall global commodity free fall was the main cause...
Indian metal recycling industry seeks removal of duties
The metal recycling industry of India has urged the government for exemption on Special Additional Duty (SAD) and removal of basic import duty on inbound shipments of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap to give a boost to the sector. The industry recycles aluminium among other metals mainly from...
Protectionism rises as govts seek to help aluminium and other metal manufacturing
Protectionist action is clearly on the rise and even as economies slowly recover next year anti-dumping action can be surely expected to get worse not better across the world. Aluminium along with other industrial metals have hit the headlines most this year, not surprisingly as the volumes are...
Balco unions seek PM's intervention to bail out local players
Already hit by more than 1,000 job cuts at Vedanta Group company Balco's Chhattisgarh unit, the company's trade unions have approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help bail out local aluminium makers from cheaper imports from China. After Balco shut its rolling mill in Chhattisgarh leading to...
Chinese aluminum smelters to benefit from power tariff cuts
China’s State Council announced Wednesday to cut coal-fired on-grid power tariffs from January 1, 2016. This move comes as a welcome rain to domestic aluminum smelters, since power cost takes up almost 40% of their total costs. The power tariff cut is about 0.03 yuan (¢0.4632)/Kwh nationwide on...
India aluminium industry pitches for reducing taxes on raw materials
Indian aluminium industry, that has been facing tough times on account of cheap imports and softening of prices, is now pushing for reducing the duty on raw materials in a bid to cut production costs. The industry says India has an inverted duty structure with 5 per cent import duty on alumina as...
Aluminium counts on duty hike by Indian Finance Ministry
Ministry of Finance (India) is likely to relent to the demand of aluminium manufacturers to raise import duty to thwart cheap imports. The North Block is likely to increase the import duty on aluminium to 7.5-10 per cent from 5 per cent in the next budget. Officials said they had been concentrating...
EU imposes anti-dumping duties on Russian aluminium foil
The European Union imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of Russian aluminium foil on Friday after its investigation showed the product was sold across the bloc at below market prices, the EU's Official Journal said. A definitive anti-dumping duty of 12.2 percent will be levied on aluminium foil...
Import duty hike for Indian aluminium sector unlikely this year
The possibility of increase in import duty on aluminium by 2.5 per cent this year is "very bleak" despite the Mines Ministry pushing the case. "Although Mines Ministry has written to Finance Ministry to raise import duty by 2.5 per cent, the chances of this happening in 2015 are very bleak," a...
Indian aluminium makers push for change in duty structure
Aluminium makers in India, including Vedanta, are pitching for a correction of the prevailing inverted duty structure, under which taxes on the raw materials are higher than on the finished products, by reducing the import duty on inputs to 2.5% from 5-7.5% now and raising customs duty on the metal...
Flooding Chinese aluminium semis angers overseas rivals
Massive outflows of Chinese aluminium semis, as a way out against saturated domestic market, have aroused growing anger and barriers from overseas. President and CEO of the Aluminum Association of US (AA) and the Aluminum Association of Canada (AAC) recently wrote a joint letter to US Secretary of...
U.S. Commerce Dept raises import duties on some Chinese aluminium extrusions
The U.S. Commerce Department is ratcheting up pressure on some imports of aluminium extrusions, with a significant hike in the discounted duty rate for several Chinese companies. A document posted on the Commerce Department's website late on Tuesday showed the government has agreed to increase...
