AEC, CAMMU denounce reimposition of 232 aluminum tariffs on Canada

Industry organizations are expressing their disappointment after the Trump administration reimposed the 232 tariffs on imports of unwrought, unalloyed aluminum products from Canada.

“Once again the Trump administration has missed the mark in protecting the U.S. aluminum industry,” said Jeff Henderson, president of the Aluminum Extruders Council. “With the entire domestic aluminum industry demanding that China’s unrelenting overproduction of aluminum products come to an end, the administration fires its guns at Canada, one of our critical aluminum trading partners. The only impact from this measure will be increased U.S. aluminum prices, which will only make our manufacturing sector less competitive globally.”

The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) issued the following statement: “The last 24 hours is more evidence of why the reliance on tariffs as a trade policy was largely abandoned in the 1930s. Hours after President Trump reimposed 10% Section 232 tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada, the Canadian government announced that it will place $2.7 billion in tariffs on U.S. aluminum exports. The North American supply chain is integrated, and aluminum-using manufacturers on both sides of the border will be hurt by these tariffs.

“Tariffs are taxes, and the last thing that U.S. manufacturers needed was for the government to raise the cost of aluminum by placing a tax on this important input while these companies are dealing with unprecedented challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump administration is taxing the very inputs manufacturers need to produce the medical supplies here in the U.S. that are saving American lives every day.

"U.S. manufacturers have paid billions of dollars in tariffs over the past two years, money that could be used for hiring workers, capital investment and research and development, all critical elements for the manufacturing sector to recover from the recession caused by the pandemic. CAMMU continues to call on the president to terminate the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.”