Section 232 Aluminum Tariffs Led to Significant Boost in Investment and Jobs

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The recently published white paper by the Economic Policy Institiute (EPI) cites that the Section 232 aluminum duty imposed by the former President Donald Trump in 2018 is a huge success. It has not only boosted the industry investments, but has created a lot of new opportunities.

Prior to the duty, the U.S. primary aluminum industry has been facing huge crisis situation, with nearly 18 out of the 23 domestic aluminum smelters shutting down production between 2010 and 2017. This also led to elimination of approximately 13,000 industry jobs. By 2016, the U.S has only three alumina refineries in operation, which was further reduced to one in 2017. It was under these circumstances that the Commerce Department launched an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

The report states that the U.S. domestic aluminum industry rebounded following implementation of the Section 232 import measures. At least 55 new and expansion projects in downstream aluminum industries are expected to create 4,500 additional jobs, generating around $6 billion in new investment.

In two years after implementation of the import tariffs, the U.S. domestic primary aluminum production has surged higher by 37.6%, compared with the preceding two years. The U.S. annualized aluminum production touched 1.14 million metric tons before the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, the report noted.