“We are very concerned about the possibility of having additional trade barriers between the US and Europe. Instead of imposing additional duties on each other, we should work together to address the root cause of the challenges faced by the aluminium industries on both sides of the Atlantic, namely the growing subsidised excess capacity of aluminium in China. Additional duties will be yet another blow to European producers, who already are under immense pressure from unfairly priced exports of aluminium products from China, the US duties on aluminium imports from Europe, and now the impact of the COVID-19 crisis,” says Gerd Götz, Director General of European Aluminium.
Since the US decision to impose a blanket tariff on all aluminium imports to the US in March 2018 (the so-called Section 232 tariffs), Europe finds itself increasingly squeezed between the US and China.
In the transatlantic relations, European Aluminium urges both sides to continue to strive for good cooperation between its industries that are closely connected. European Aluminium therefore reiterates its call to the US not to adopt additional barriers.
“Europe has always provided the US with a trusted and stable supply source for aluminium. We look forward to a fact-based investigation because we strongly believe that the petitions filed against European countries are not justified,” concludes Götz.
The US International Trade Commission commenced the investigation on 9 March 2020 following a petition filed by five US aluminium producers.
_{(Source: European Aluminium)}