Trade Cases

U.S. Pulls Aluminum Tariffs Prior to Canadian Retaliation

Written by Sandy Williams

September 14, 2020

The U.S. has reversed its position on imposing tariffs on Canadian aluminum imports. The U.S Trade Representative said in a statement on Sept. 15, “After consultations with the Canadian government, the United States has determined that trade in non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum is likely to normalize in the last four months of 2020, with imports declining sharply from the surges experienced earlier in the year.”   

A 10 percent tariff was imposed by President Trump in August, but average monthly imports are now expected to decline 50 percent from the January through July monthly average.

Shipments are expected to be no greater than the following volumes for the remainder of the year:

AlumShipments

The USTR reserved the right to impose 10 percent tariffs retroactively on any month that exceeds 105 percent of the expected volume. Any increase in volume is expected to be reduced by the corresponding amount in the following month. If imports should exceed 105 percent in any month, the U.S. may also re-impose the tariff going forward.

Canada was expected to reveal on Tuesday $3.6 billion in retaliatory countermeasures to the aluminum tariffs. Potential U.S. export targets included products such as aluminum beverage cans, tinfoil, appliances, staples and recreational items like bicycles and golf clubs.

Governors from New England urged the administration to drop the tariffs in a Sept. 8 letter, calling them “unnecessary and inappropriate.”

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, New Hampshire’s Chris Sununu and Maine’s Janet Mills said in their letter, “New England and Canada build things together. About half of all trade with Canada takes place between our related companies.

“We strongly believe that this stance regarding Canadian aluminum will only hurt American manufacturers. The tariffs will make products from an F-35 jet to a washing machine to a can of beer more expensive, thus making the value chain weaker and negatively impacting our economy.”

Sandy Williams

Read more from Sandy Williams

Latest in Trade Cases

Leibowitz: The consequences of a new barrage of trade cases on coated steel

Domestic steel producers and the United Steelworkers (USW) union filed a barrage of trade cases last week. This is hardly news. Ever since the Commerce Department ruled that Vietnam is still treated as a nonmarket economy (NME) for antidumping purposes, many in the business expected new cases on the product that Vietnam excels at—“corrosion-resistant steel.” Nor is it a surprise that these cases roped in nine countries in addition to Vietnam: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. All these countries rank in the top ten exporters of corrosion-resistant steel to the United States. These petitions are a broadside against coated flat-rolled steel imports.

US mills file sprawling trade case against coated imports from 10 nations

US mills have filed or soon will file a sprawling trade petition against imports of coated flat-rolled steel from 10 countries. The petition seeks anti-dumping margins against Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia, and South Africa. It also seeks countervailing duty margins against Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Vietnam. That’s according documents dated Sept. 5 and addressed to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and International Trade Commission (ITC) Secretary Lisa Barton.

Steel Summit 2024: Trade issues abound ahead of election

Trade is always front and center in an election year. And 2024 is no different. There is no shortage of issues, with questions like the sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel, potential cracks in the USMCA, and Chinese overcapacity dominating the headlines. But how do you distinguish between issues that might just last until November, and what are the crucial questions that could affect your business for years to come?