It is hard to believe that it was only five years ago that the U.S. aluminum extrusion industry pulled its resources, data, and resolve together to petition the U.S. Federal Government to initiate tariffs against Chinese extrusion exporters using illegal and unfair trade practices. Those orders transformed our industry into one of the most vibrant manufacturing niches in our economy. All across the United States extruders are boasting of new equipment, new market opportunities, and a positive outlook going into 2016. That is not the case for other aluminum semis coming out of China. Foil, sheet, and plate are all witnessing the invasion of cheap Chinese imports, which is not only eroding domestic production but also flooding the world with aluminum. In hindsight it is clear that our industry was right when it determined it would either need to take trade action or watch the market go to the Chinese. So, here we are at the five-year mark. This is the year we w...
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.