Why did Argentina end anti-dumping duties on Chinese aluminium foils, while the decision on aluminium tubes remains pending?
Argentina and China are deepening their aluminium trade ties, highlighted by Argentina's February 2026 decision to eliminate a 28 per cent antidumping duty on Chinese aluminium foil, reversing trade barriers from 2020.
The Argentine Ministry of Economy issued Resolution 172/2026 to end the review of the anti-dumping measures of Chinese imports of aluminium foils. The review was closed because the time period had expired, and thus, the duties that had been in effect since 2020 were dismissed.
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China is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of manufactured aluminium goods such as foil, sheets, and semi-finished products, which are often cheaper due to large-scale production, whereas Argentina has a smaller downstream aluminium industry, but produces primary aluminium.
Though Argentina and China do not have a formal bilateral free trade agreement specifically for aluminium, their trade relationship has developed through a series of broader economic cooperation agreements over time. Because Chinese-manufactured aluminium products are often competitively priced, Argentina imports items such as aluminium foil and other processed forms for packaging, food, and industrial use.
The withdrawal of import restrictions was directed at aluminium foil, rolled but not further worked, of a thickness of not less than 0.021 mm but not more than 0.2 mm (NCM tariff heading 7607.11.90). However, investigation is still underway for the aluminium tubes from China due to price, currently having 75.5 per cent duties, while Brazilian imports were excluded.
In international trade, dumping occurs when a country exports a product at a price lower than its normal value (often lower than the price in its own domestic market or even below production cost). Governments can impose anti-dumping duties if investigations show that imports are being dumped, and the dumping causes injury to the domestic industry. This is allowed under the rules of the World Trade Organisation.
Thus, anti-dumping duty, a protectionist tariff, is imposed by governments on imports priced below their fair market value to prevent injury to domestic industries. Permitted under the WTO agreement based on Article VI guidelines of GATT, these duties bridge the gap between the export price and the normal value, neutralising unfair competition.
Argentina’s investigation found that Chinese aluminium foil was entering the market at significantly lower prices than locally produced foil. This created several problems, such as price undercutting, loss of market share for domestic manufacturers, pressure on profits and production in the local aluminium processing industry.
In 2020, the Former Ministry of Productive Development established Resolution 88, which introduced these anti-dumping measures. 28 per cent duties were imposed on the Free on board (the seller fulfilling obligation when goods are loaded into vessels) export value for five years, the maximum period allowed under the law. The measure could be renewed if the national industry requested it and proved that the conditions still required protection.
According to an international trade database, the net import of aluminium foil was 4,487 tonnes (USD 16.63 million) in 2018, 4,236 tonnes (USD 14.73 million) in 2019, and 3,491 tonnes (USD 11.66 million) in 2020. In 2021, the total imported volume was 2,827 tonnes worth USD 10.89 million. Imports of aluminium foil (HS Code 7607) by Argentina from China show a clear declining trend between 2018 and 2021, about 37 per cent in volume and 35 per cent in value, which corresponds with Argentina’s anti-dumping measures on Chinese aluminium foil, discouraging imports and helping protect domestic producers from low-priced or dumped products.
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As the five-year period was about to end, another investigation was started to examine the expiration of the term and any changes in circumstances, according to trade defence rules. The National Commission for Foreign Trade (CNCE), the technical body responsible for damage assessment, ran this backgroun checks and submitted the proposal to the Ministry of Economy, leading to the closing of these tariffs.
Argentina removed the anti-dumping taxes on aluminium foil imports from China after reviewing the policy and finding that market conditions had changed. The government observed that imports from China had already decreased significantly and that the duty was reducing competition in the domestic market.
However, the situation for aluminium tubes is different. The decision on this is still pending because there are still indications of possible dumping and damage to the domestic industry. Argentina imported aluminium tubes (HS code 7608) from China with some fluctuations between 2018 and 2021. In 2018, imports were about 482 tonnes with a value of USD 1.91 million. In 2019, the volume decreased to 344 tonnes, and the value slightly fell to USD 1.89 million. In 2020, both volume and value dropped sharply to 198 tonnes and USD 0.88 million, showing a strong decline in imports. However, in 2021, imports increased again to 391 tonnes with a value of USD 2.14 million. Overall, the data shows that aluminium tube imports from China decreased until 2020 and then recovered in 2021 in both volume and value.
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Because of the tariff, local producers had gained a strong market position, and domestic prices remained high even when global aluminium prices were falling. To encourage more competition, lower prices for industries that use aluminium foil, and follow review procedures allowed under the World Trade Organisation, Argentina decided not to continue the anti-dumping measure.
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If domestic producers remain competitive, imports may stay moderate, but if Chinese products remain cheaper in the global market, Argentina could again see rising imports and may reconsider trade-defence measures under the rules of the World Trade Organisation. Overall, the most likely scenario is stable but slightly fluctuating imports rather than a sharp increase or decline.
Note: The image used in this article is generated with an AI tool and does not depict any real-time moment
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