Aluminum Association Wants Gradual Section 232 Tariff Reduction Instead of TRQ on EU Aluminum

The Aluminum Association's Section 232 working group recently met with Commerce Department and Office of U.S. Trade Representative staff “with a recommendation on how to navigate the ongoing aluminum tariff dispute between the U.S. and European Union,” it said in its weekly newsletter. The U.S. and the EU said in June they hoped to reach an agreement on Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum by year-end (see 2106150070). “Rather than a hard tariff rate quota (TRQ) to replace the 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports from the EU, the Aluminum Association is proposing that the tariff be gradually reduced until it reaches parity on a U.S./EU Most Favored Nation basis,” it said.

An abrupt shift to a TRQ would result in other problems, the association said. “A hard quota would be highly disruptive to industry trade flows and hurt U.S. aluminum companies," it said. "We also called on the Commerce Department to reform its product exclusion process and continue to work with our allies to pressure China to stop exporting heavily subsidized aluminum,” it said.