The lifeblood of the U.S. industry’s trade action against Chinese extruders is the energy of its members. That energy manifests itself as action, communication, and financial participation. By the end of 2013 the industry had invested over $5.5 million in legal fees and other costs associated with winning, and subsequently defending this case since the process began in late 2009. This investment has gone to winning the original petition, fighting off a major court decision referred to as GPX, dozens of scope requests and appeals, the first annual administrative review, and a substantial down payment on the second annual administrative review. As 2014 takes shape it is clear that this battle will continue to rage. I want to lay out the costs, and present our 2014 funding strategy.
The primary focus of our government affairs work at this moment centers on the Section 232 valuation issue currently under discussion in Washington, D.C. As highlighted during the recent Aluminum Summit and in prior AEC communications, there remains uncertainty regarding how the Administration intends to resolve this matter. The original Executive Order that established the Section 232 aluminum tariffs made clear that the tariffs were intended to apply to the full value of the imported aluminum extrusion, not solely the value of the aluminum content within the product. At this time, it remains unclear whether the Administration will seek to address the issue by issuing a new Executive Order or by providing additional interpretive guidance through U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The AEC is actively monitoring these discussions and will update members as soon as a definitive course of action emerges. Parallel to the valuation discussions, attention is tur...
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