The U.S. Department of Commerce is preparing to tax aluminium sheet exporters from 18 countries after determining on Tuesday that they had benefited from subsidies and dumping.
The US International Trade Commission (ITC), an independent body, must approve the final decision by April 15 to impose anti-dumping or countervailing duties, a department statement said.
The investigation, launched under the Donald Trump administration, had been requested by nearly a dozen U.S. aluminium alloy manufacturers, including Arconic and Aleris Rolled products, which felt they were being harmed by competing imports at lower prices.
President Joe Biden’s administration determined that imports from Germany in particular ($287 million in 2019) benefited from dumping ranging from 40% to 242%.
The same is true for aluminium alloy sheets from Bahrain ($241 million), which the administration said benefited from pricing below the cost of production or the local market of 83%. Imports from India ($123 million in 2019) have benefited from subsidies for 35% to 89%, according to the U.S. investigation.
