US ITC finds injury from common alloy aluminum sheet from China

The US International Trade Commission determined Friday, in a 5-0 decision, that common alloy aluminum sheet imports from China materially injure the US aluminum industry and will be subject to antidumping and countervailing duties.

The Commerce Department November 7 released its final determinations in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, finding antidumping margins of 49.85%-59.72% and countervailing rates of 46.48%-116.49%. The duties will now be will applied and a report from the ITC will be made available to the public by January 11.
Commerce self-initiated the investigation in November 2017. It specified common alloy aluminum sheet as a flat-rolled product of a thickness ranging from 0.2 mm to 6.3 mm, and can be either unclad or multi-alloy clad. The product is made from 1xxx, 3xxx, or 5xxx series alloys. Aluminum can stock was not included in the investigation.

The Aluminum Association welcomed the decision, but marine manufacturers were critical.

"Rules are essential to a functioning global trading system and businesses, as well as workers, must have confidence that rules are enforced fairly and consistently," Heidi Brock, the Aluminum Association's president and CEO, said in a statement Friday. "Today's unanimous decision reinforces that message and provides much-needed certainty and confidence to US common alloy sheet producers, allowing them to invest, grow, and add jobs to the US economy."

According to the Aluminum Association, common alloy aluminum sheet imports from China grew 731% from 2007 to 2017, and, in 2017, China alone accounted for almost 40% of US common alloy aluminum sheet imports, making it the largest foreign supplier of the good.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association, however, called ITC's vote "deeply troubling, but unsurprising."

"In simple terms, this is bad news for marine manufacturers and the people they employ," Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, said in a statement.

Dammrich added the decision "makes it clear that the commission and administration are not concerned by the downstream fallout of this action -- consequences that have been taking a toll on multiple American industries, including marine manufacturing, since [Commerce] self-initiated these investigations nearly a year ago."

Dammrich said the decision will affect the marine manufacturing industry primarily by increasing costs and reducing the supply of common alloy aluminum sheet.

"Very few people deny that our trading relationships, especially with China, need to be reformed, but the current strategy of protecting a handful of select industries while levying a barrage of ill-conceived tariffs is counterproductive," he said.