The Aluminium Association of Canada maintains that Canada should be exempted from any tariffs or quotas

Montreal, February 16, 2018 – The Aluminium Association of Canada (AAC) has reviewed the report by the United States Department of Commerce on the effect of imports of aluminum on the national security. According to Jean Simard, President and CEO of the AAC, “We are confident that working closely with the US administration over the coming weeks and months will help maintain and further the very integrated relationship in our North American industry which has been beneficial to hundreds of thousands of American workers”. The AAC consequently maintains that Canada should be exempted from any tariffs or quotas.

As indicated by Secretary Ross, the objectives behind the section 232 investigation are to target dumping, transshipment and overcapacity, which Canada recognizes as issues and has also clearly denounced during public hearings. According to Jean Simard, “We have to this day barely maintained our capacity, while remaining part of the United States global defense supplies perimeter since the Second World War. It would thus be to America’s detriment that imports or quotas affect our aluminium capacity through an impacted trade relationship”. This was further recognized in the 232 report, where it is mentioned that “Canadian primary aluminum production is important to the U.S. aluminum industry” (see p. 52).

As already indicated in the course of the hearings, the Canadian aluminium industry shares the US predicament stemming from the global overcapacity. And as suggested in the past, we will continue to work constructively with our American counterparts to bring together in a global forum all parties involved, especially China, in order to resolve this situation which has already caused too many closures.

About the Aluminium Association of Canada (www.aluminium.ca/en)

The Aluminium Association of Canada (AAC) is a non-profit organization representing three Canadian world-class aluminium producers: Alcoa, Alouette, and Rio Tinto operating ten smelters in Canada, nine of which are in Quebec, and employing over 8,000 workers.

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Source:

Jean Simard

Aluminium Association of Canada

514 288-4842