The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) today made a unanimous preliminary determination that unfairly-traded imports of common alloy aluminum sheet from Bahrain, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Republic of Korea, Oman, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey are causing injury to U.S. producers.  The preliminary injury determination means that the antidumping and countervailing duty cases against imports from those countries, which the Commerce Department initiated on March 30, 2020, will proceed.  The Commerce Department’s preliminary countervailing duty determinations are currently due to be completed on June 3, 2020, and the preliminary antidumping duty determinations are due to be completed on August 17, 2020, although these deadlines may be extended.

“The Aluminum Association and its members are encouraged by today’s unanimous finding by the U.S. International Trade Commission,” said Tom Dobbins, president & CEO of the Aluminum Association.  “It is clear that U.S. aluminum firms are being injured by continued unfair imports in this market and today’s decision is a win for rules-based global trade.” 

U.S. companies that make common alloy aluminum sheet were hurt first by a wave of unfair imports from China.  After winning a trade case against China in late 2018, unfairly low-priced imports from the 18 named countries surged into the United States and inflicted additional injury. Aluminum Association members are participating in the trade cases to return fair pricing to the U.S. market, and to ensure that the U.S. industry is able to utilize fully the significant capital investments pursued following the earlier successful unfair trade case against imports from China.

“The USITC’s affirmative preliminary decision is an important step in remedying the devastating injury to domestic producers that has been caused by a surge of unfairly-traded imports of common alloy aluminum sheet from the various subject countries,” commented John Herrmann, of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, counsel to the domestic industry.  

Imports of common alloy aluminum sheet from Bahrain, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Republic of Korea, Oman, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey increased by more than 113 percent between 2017 and 2019, and they collectively account for nearly 70 percent of all U.S. imports.

Common alloy aluminum sheet is a flat-rolled aluminum product that is used in a variety of applications, including transportation, building and construction, infrastructure, electrical, and marine applications where its strength, relatively light-weight, formability, and resistance to corrosion are essential.  The U.S. aluminum industry ships about 2 billion pounds of common alloy aluminum sheet each year.

The common alloy aluminum sheet subject to the unfair trade investigations is a flat-rolled aluminum 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, and is manufactured from a 1XXX-, 3XXX-, or 5XXX-series alloy.  The aluminum sheet subject to investigation includes both unclad aluminum sheet, as well as multi-alloy, clad aluminum sheet. Common uses for the product under investigation include gutters and downspouts, building facades, street signs and license plates, electrical boxes, pontoon boats, and tractor trailers for trucks. Excluded from the scope of the investigations is aluminum can stock that is suitable for use in the manufacture of aluminum beverage cans, lids, or tabs.  

Domestic producers of common alloy aluminum sheet are represented in these actions by John M. Herrmann, Paul C. Rosenthal, Kathleen W. Cannon, R. Alan Luberda, Grace W. Kim, and Joshua R. Morey of the law firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.