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    April 21, 2025

    Wittbecker on Aluminum: Can port fees bring US shipbuilding back?

    Written by Greg Wittbecker

    By now you must have tariff fatigue, so we are shifting gears to focus the maritime tax proposals of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) plus some other low-key tax relief bills that may have out-sized effects on sectors served by aluminum.

    The USTR recently completed a year-long, Section 301 study on China shipbuilding and vessel ownership which pointed to the country’s domination of the market – and as an extension, the risks to US national security.

    Greg Wittbecker

    Read more from Greg Wittbecker

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    AMU: Edward Meir’s week in review and thoughts for the week of Oct. 12, 2026

    Base metals had a mixed week. Tin lost almost 4% on the week, finishing at $53,000/ton. Prices dropped to a low of $51,259/ton at one point. Aluminum was another loser, off by about 1.6% on the week. Investors are expecting more aluminum supply going forward, especially out of China and Indonesia. Copper prices tacked on 1.1%. They have now recovered more than half of the $700/ton loss sustained (over the course of a week) following reports/rumors in mid-September that US tariffs on refined copper imports might not proceed after all.