The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently released the 2026 OECD MAGIC Database of Industrial Subsidies. The Aluminum Association, European Aluminium, the Aluminium Association of Canada (AAC), and the Japan Aluminium Association (JAA) applauded the release, which provides an extensive, publicly available database of subsidy estimates across 15 industrial sectors over the 20-year period from 2005 to 2024.
The data presented in the OECD MAGIC database shows that industrial subsidies globally have been increasing in recent years, and they reached their highest level in 2024 since the peak during the (2008-2009) global economic crisis. While subsidies are pervasive across countries and sectors, firms based in China are much larger recipients than firms located elsewhere, while the most heavily subsidized sectors are solar panels, semiconductors, and aluminum.
As noted in the database:
- Over the period 2005-2024, subsidies to the aluminum sector totaled US$118.3 billion, of which China provided US$101.4 billion (86% of the total) in subsidies, while OECD countries provided US$5.4 billion and the rest of the world provided US$11.5 billion.
- Subsidies in 2024 to the aluminum sector totaled US$11.1 billion, of which China contributed US$10.2 billion (92% of the total), while OECD countries contributed US$399 million, and the rest of the world contributed US$504 million.
- 2024 subsidies as a share of aluminum firm revenue were 4.4% in China, 0.5% in OECD countries, and 0.5% in the rest of the world.
The new data reinforces an earlier OECD analysis, which outlined how China’s state enterprises are not just recipients of support, but are also major providers, particularly in the form of below-market finance by state banks. State enterprises are also more likely to benefit from preferential competition rules, public procurement practices, and forced technology transfers. Understanding this entire ecosystem — in which state support flows in many forms and in multiple directions across entire supply chains and fundamentally reshapes markets — is essential for governments looking to ensure fair competition globally. Individual country trade defense measures, while welcome, are inadequate to address the scale, scope, and duration of China’s ecosystem of industrial support.
Charles Johnson, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association; Paul Voss, director general of European Aluminium; Jean Simard, president and CEO of the AAC; and Yasushi Noto, executive director of the JAA issued the following joint comment on the release of the data:
The truly groundbreaking work of the OECD over the past eight years has been as unique as it has been invaluable in providing much-needed transparency around subsidies to the aluminium industry globally. This latest release shows clearly that for the past two decades China has been in a subsidy league of its own, providing very high levels of support to Chinese firms…
As a result of these massive subsidies, in just 20 years China’s share of global primary aluminum output grew from 11% to 61%. This growth is continuing today, and is spilling over into the production and export of semi-finished and high-value manufactured products containing aluminum, and even into aluminum recycling.
China’s subsidy-based dominance of global aluminum markets gives it excessive control over affordable and reliable access to this critical material, threatening national security across G7-plus countries. Collective action to offset China’s ecosystem of aluminum support, such as common tariffs on aluminum imports and restrictions on aluminum scrap exports, along with removal of unnecessary trade restrictions between G7-plus countries, is needed now. The aluminum industry associations representing the United States, Europe, Canada, and Japan are already working collaboratively to develop interoperable aluminum import monitoring systems to underpin this collective action.
On behalf of our member companies and the 1.75 million workers they directly and indirectly support, we are committed to working with governments and with international organizations to build secure regional aluminium supply chains.
Following the release of the OECD database, the aluminum industry associations representing the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Japan published a report on “Aluminium Industry Priorities for International Action in 2026,” in which they highlight the actions that can be jointly taken by the industry. The associations noted that they are “already working collaboratively to develop interoperable aluminium import monitoring systems to underpin collective action by G7+ economies that would address the risks from China’s subsidy-based market dominance.”
About the Associations
The Aluminum Association represents the full value chain of aluminum production and jobs in the U.S., including companies that make 70% of the aluminum and aluminum products shipped in North America. The association is the industry’s leading voice, developing global standards, business intelligence, sustainability research, and industry expertise for member companies, policymakers, and the general public. The aluminum industry supports $228 billion in economic activity and nearly 700,000 jobs in the U.S. Aluminum companies have invested more than $10 billion in U.S. manufacturing over the past decade to capture next generation growth.
European Aluminium, founded in 1981 and based in Brussels, is the voice of the aluminum industry in Europe. The association actively engages with decision makers and the wider stakeholder community to promote the outstanding properties
of aluminum, secure growth, and optimize the contribution our metal can make to meeting Europe’s sustainability challenges. Its 100+ members include primary aluminum producers; downstream manufacturers of extruded, rolled and cast aluminum; producers of recycled aluminum, and national aluminum associations, representing more than 600 plants in 30 European countries.
Founded in 1990, the AAC represents the three Canadian world-class aluminum producers: Alcoa, Alouette, and Rio Tinto. Operating nine smelters in Canada, eight of which are in Quebec, they employ over 9,800 workers, including more than 7,700 in Quebec, producing more than 82% of North America’s primary metal, with $11.3 billion in exports. The AAC and its members are active in the protection and development of aluminum as a strategic and critical material for resilient and reliable supply chains.
The JAA was established in 1947 (its former names included the Light Metal Rolling Association and Light Metal Smelting Association of Japan). The association brings together approximately 140 member companies operating across the value chain, including rolled and extruded products, fabrication, remelting, and trading. As the principal representative body of Japan’s aluminum industry, the JAA plays an important role in public affairs, government relations, research and development, energy and environmental initiatives, as well as health and safety. Through these activities, the JAA works to enhance the value and sustainability of Japan’s aluminum industry.