The Financial Impact of the China Trade Case Nearly five years ago the industry came together under the leadership of the Aluminum Extruders Council to develop a strategic plan for the industry. This plan was designed to expand the extrusion market in North America. It contained defensive and offensive elements. The defense strategy took aim at protecting our market from illegal and unfair trade practices causing an explosion of imports into the U.S. market in 2009. Our offense strategy developed industry promotion actions intended to expand and promote the use of aluminum extrusions. As these strategies were executed, the United States economy began its slow yet steady rally from the depths of the Great Recession. I’d like to illustrate how those elements worked together to deliver over one billion more pounds in aluminum extrusion shipments in 2013 compared to 2009. This 32 percent increase in volume has led to extruders investing more than $700 millio...
The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) has led the U.S. aluminum extrusion industry in achieving level competition by winning tariff protection that offsets unfair trade practices of extruders/importers of aluminum profiles produced in China. Our efforts have been of enormous value to domestic extruders and suppliers. Conservatively, an estimated 800 million pounds per year of extrusions are being produced in the U. S. that would have otherwise been lost to China.