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The Waiting Game

This month we find ourselves in a waiting game.  We are awaiting word on the proposal to re-impose 232 aluminum duties on imports from Canada, and possibly Mexico.  We are waiting on word about a key scope challenge concerning a curtain wall product.  We are waiting to see which Chinese extruders the Department of Commerce (DOC) selects for this year’s Administrative Review.  As we have seen in the past, there often comes a time when all the pinwheels are turning that we have to wait and see how it plays out.

Now, as you know, we haven’t been sitting back over the last few weeks, or even months.  Instead, we joined voices to re-state our case that the 232 aluminum tariffs should be removed and our industry allowed to purchase metal at the global price.  We’ve worked hard in our filings to the DOC about key scope challenges like the curtain wall case and more recently, solar mounting systems.  Furthermore, we are leaning on the DOC to persuade them to select the Chinese extruders in this year’s Administrative Review that we believe best represent how the Chinese are impacting our market.  Based on past results, I am confident our efforts will not be in vain.

As our nation comes back to life, and the global economy starts to re-engage with the U.S. and Canada, we need to stay vigilant on the trade enforcement front.  Reports we were hearing pre-COVID went silent as our factories and businesses ground to a halt.  It is our expectation that as we re-open new deals may be cut—and some of them with bad actors.  Please stay on the lookout for any renewed efforts in this regard.  If you have a customer that returned in 2019 that suddenly disappears, check into it.  It was at a similar stage in our recovery when we saw the Chinese double-down on the U.S. market after the financial collapse. 

When we gather in a few weeks at our Virtual Management Conference (open to AEC members only), we will have a Fair Trade track that will allow members to interact with our attorneys.  We can all ask questions and learn their insights into what is happening in D.C.  After our trade attorneys speak, we will conduct an interactive session to openly discuss what is happening in the market and discuss remedies.

In the meantime, get your data into Wiley so we can continue to monitor the market place.  Now that the market has collapsed we WILL be able to show injury, which we couldn’t ‘prove’ a year ago.  However, we need your data to aggregate industry totals.  The more data we collect, the better our strategy will be.  If you have no idea what I am talking about, call me!  This is important!
Thank you all for your continued support!  You are making a difference for your industry, your business, and your employees.

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