The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) has joined the China Trade Task Force (CTTF), an organization aimed at addressing structural imbalances in the global aluminum market that AEC attributes to Chinese government policies. Century Aluminum and the United Steel Workers are also CTTF members.
“China is harming the primary aluminum market in North America,” said Jeff Henderson, AEC president. “We’ve seen these tactics being used in China’s aluminum extrusion industry for years. China uses their production of semi-fabricated aluminum to flood the global market with unnecessary aluminum.”
Over the last several years, Chinese aluminum producers have dramatically expanded capacity. The AEC believes that this capacity expansion may have been achieved through illegal tactics, including certain subsidies, preferential regulatory treatment, and dumping the excess capacity in the form of semi-finished products in other markets. These practices, according to the Council, have contributed to many U.S. primary aluminum producers shuttering their operations, as well as potentially endangering the viability of downstream industries.
The AEC initiated anti-dumping case against Chinese extrusions that resulted in affirmative determinations by the International Trade Commission and Department of Commerce imposed duties on Chinese extrusion imports beginning in May 2011. This has turned the tide in the North American aluminum extrusion industry’s efforts to level the playing field and bolstered domestic industry, according to the Council. “Although the tariffs have helped the domestic extrusion industry recover from the effects of China’s unfair trade, we will continue to fight for a fair and level playing field as long as China continues their non-market economy practices,” said Henderson.
“We are delighted that the Aluminum Extruders Council is joining the coalition to halt China’s illegal aluminum subsidies,” remarked Mark Duffy, executive director of CTTF. “Both presidential candidates are talking tough on China, but what we need now is action. Thousands of U.S. aluminum jobs depend on it.”
The U.S. aluminum industry supports over 170,000 jobs and $186 billion in economic output, according the Aluminum Association.