Aluminum Tariffs

Aluminum Tariffs coming soon as US will re-impose tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada

This move could disrupt supply chains by U.S. companies to re-source aluminum. The Trump administration has plans to bring back a 10% tariff If Canada refuses to cut exports. The tariffs would come on the same day that USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) takes effect. U.S. Manufacturers would be forced to find alternative sources for Canadian aluminum and potentially hurt cross-border trucking companies such as Bison Transport Inc.

This latest development in the trade wars should encourage companies to have diversified supply chains. Since 2018, Steel and Aluminum have been a hot topic in regards to U.S. trade. These tariffs only lasted about a year as the countries agreed to drop the tariffs in May of 2019.

There is a lot of surplus aluminium around at the moment. London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouse stocks have risen 600,000 tons since the middle of March.

Firstly, Canadian production has been rising thanks to the return of the Becancour smelter after a bitter two-year strike that ended in July 2019.

Secondly, there is the not so little matter of COVID-19 and the demand destruction caused by the lockdown of North America’s automotive and construction sectors.

A 10% tariff has been a number thrown around by the administration and has received quite a bit of push back from beer manufacturers. More than 60 per cent of beer in the U.S. is packaged in aluminum cans or bottles and a 10% aluminum tariff could affect brewers ability to bring beer to market.

Sources:

• Friedman, Gabriel. “Some U.S. Aluminum Producers Are Again Pushing for Tariffs on Canada as Others Warn of 'Great Canadian Distraction'.” Financial Post, 17 June 2020, business.financialpost.com/commodities/mining/u-s-aluminum-producers-push-tariffs-canada.
• Tabak, Nate. “US to Hit Canada with Aluminum Tariffs, Report Says.” FreightWaves, 23 June 2020, www.freightwaves.com/news/us-to-hit-canada-with-aluminum-tariffs-report-says.
• Reuters, Thomson. “U.S. Plans to Slap Tariffs on Aluminum Imports from Canada, Bloomberg Report Says | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 23 June 2020, www.cbc.ca/news/world/tariffs-aluminum-u-s-canada-trade-1.5623245.
• Benzinga. “Report: U.S. To Hit Canada With Aluminum Tariffs.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 23 June 2020, finance.yahoo.com/news/report-u-hit-canada-aluminum-155448782.html.