Lauren Wilk, Vice President for Policy at the Aluminum Association, issued the following statement following today’s announcement that the Canadian government will add certain aluminum products to its Import Control List (ICL), a monitoring system for imports entering the country. 

“Strong trade enforcement is absolutely essential to a fair, rules-based global trading system,” said Wilk. “Including aluminum products in Canada’s import monitoring system will help government officials and the industry to identify trends in trade flows and address aluminum misclassification, transshipment and evasion of duties. The Aluminum Association has been a strong advocate for the creation of an aluminum import monitoring system in the United States to address similar issues in our country, and we look forward to working with the U.S. government to develop a program that will help ensure U.S. aluminum producers can compete on a level playing field within North America.”

Today’s decision means that importers in Canada will be subject to strict reporting obligations to ensure that aluminum products entering the country are in compliance with relevant trade law. Canada’s decision is consistent with the commitments set forth in the May 17, 2019, agreement that reinstated the country’s exemption from Section 232 tariffs on aluminum products. In the May 17 joint statement, the U.S. and Canada agreed to adopt policies to improve aluminum import monitoring and prevent the transshipment of metal. 

Effectively monitoring imports at the border is vital to enforcement of trade rules. Earlier this month, the U.S. government indicted China Zhongwang Holdings, Ltd. on charges of smuggling large quantities of aluminum into the United States in an effort to evade nearly $2 billion in tariffs.