Brussels, 24 March 2020 – European Aluminium profoundly regrets the US anti-dumping investigation into common alloy aluminium sheet from Croatia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey. European Aluminium contests the injurious dumping and subsidisation allegations and strongly urges the US authorities not to impose additional trade barriers but rather to work together with the European Commission to address subsidised Chinese overcapacity, which is the root cause of the challenges faced by the aluminium industries in Europe and the US.

“We are very concerned about the possibility of having additional trade barriers between the US and Europe. Instead of imposing additional duties on each other, we should work together to address the root cause of the challenges faced by the aluminium industries on both sides of the Atlantic, namely the growing subsidised excess capacity of aluminium in China. Additional duties will be yet another blow to European producers, who already are under immense pressure from unfairly priced exports of aluminium products from China, the US duties on aluminium imports from Europe, and now the impact of the COVID-19 crisis,” says Gerd Götz, Director General of European Aluminium.

Since the US decision to impose a blanket tariff on all aluminium imports to the US in March 2018 (the so-called Section 232 tariffs), Europe finds itself increasingly squeezed between the US and China.

In the transatlantic relations, European Aluminium urges both sides to continue to strive for good cooperation between its industries that are closely connected. European Aluminium therefore reiterates its call to the US not to adopt additional barriers.

“Europe has always provided the US with a trusted and stable supply source for aluminium. We look forward to a fact- based investigation because we strongly believe that the petitions filed against European countries are not justified,” concludes Götz.

The US International Trade Commission commenced the investigation on 9 March 2020 following a petition filed by five US aluminium producers.

Note to editors:

The US anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation concerns imports of common alloy aluminium sheet from European countries (Croatia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey) in addition to Bahrain, Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Korea, Oman, Serbia, South Africa and Taiwan. Aluminium common alloy sheet is a flat-rolled aluminium product having a thickness of 6.3 mm or less, but greater than 0.2 mm, in coils or cut-to- length, regardless of width. Common alloy sheet within the scope of this order includes both not clad aluminium sheet, as well as multi-alloy, clad aluminium sheet. Common alloy sheet is widely used in mobility and transportation, building and construction, infrastructure, electrical and marine applications where its strength, relatively lightweight, formability and resistance to corrosion are required.

About European Aluminium:

European Aluminium, founded in 1981 and based in Brussels, is the voice of the aluminium industry in Europe. We actively engage with decision makers and the wider stakeholder community to promote the outstanding properties of aluminium, secure growth and optimise the contribution our metal can make to meeting Europe’s sustainability challenges. Through environmental and technical expertise, economic and statistical analysis, scientific research, education and sharing of best practices, public affairs and communication activities, European Aluminium promotes the use of aluminium as a material with permanent properties that is part of the solution to achieving sustainable goals, while maintaining and improving the image of the industry, of the material and of its applications among their stakeholders. Our 80+ members include primary aluminium producers; downstream manufacturers of extruded, rolled and cast aluminium; producers of recycled aluminium and national aluminium associations are representing more than 600 plants in 30 European countries. Aluminium products are used in a wide range of markets, including automotive, transport, high-tech engineering, building, construction and packaging.

For further information, please contact: communications@european-aluminium.eu,

+32 2 775 63 63