With aluminium prices at multi-year lows, a petition signed by the US Aluminium Association and a number of industry players such as Aleris, Arconic, Constellium and Novelis was approved by the Department of Commerce on March 31^st. They allege dumping margins raging from 12.5% to 151%.

The Department headed by Wilbur Ross announced the initiation of antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of common alloy aluminium sheet targeted at Bahrain, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Oman, South Korea, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey. A preliminary determination is expected on or before April 23^rd. In 2019, imports from those countries amounted to almost $2 billion.

Excluded from the scope of these investigations is aluminum can stock, which is suitable for use in the manufacture of aluminum beverage cans, lids of such cans, or tabs used to open such cans. 

“For the purpose of AD investigations, dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than its fair value. For the purpose of CVD investigations, a countervailable subsidy is financial assistance from a foreign government that benefits the production of goods from foreign companies”, the International Trade Committee said in a release.

The petitioners are the Aluminum Association Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet Trade Enforcement Working Group and its individual members, Aleris Rolled Products, Inc. (Aleris), Arconic, Inc. (Arconic), Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC (Constellium), JW Aluminum Company (JWA), Novelis Corporation (Novelis), and Texarkana Aluminum, Inc. (Texarkana).

Meanwhile, LME aluminium prices continue to decline, posting new, four-year lows of $1497 on April 1^st. The SHFE decreased from US$1631 per tonne to US$1590 per tonne on April 2^nd.