On December 3, 2024, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) took action in issuing a forced labor finding against Kingtom Aluminio S.R.L. (“Kingtom”).  This victory for U.S. extruders is a culmination of years of effort between the AEC and United Steel Workers (USW), which started with the initial Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) allegation filed in 2019.  As a result of this finding, CBP has authorized all port directors to seize imports of aluminum extrusions from Kingtom.   For almost 15 years the Aluminum Extrusion Fair Trade Committee (AEFTC) has worked on a wide variety of trade activities.  In defending the China I case, the AEFTC has navigated the 232 Tariffs and has worked with other organizations on EAPA allegations, along with circumvention and transshipment issues.  Thank you to all who have contributed time and resources over the years!  However, there will be more work to do.  With a new administration and 2025 fast approa...

 No matter what side of the Presidential election you were in favor of, we knew the Administration was going to change.  For the AEC and Government Affairs we can find opportunities in these changes and work towards advancing our position with a new Administration and Congress.  The AEC is actively monitoring any potential changes, which could affect our efforts related to the 232/301 Tariffs, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Grant Funding, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Global Arrangement Negotiations and other items of interest.  On October 30, the International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to rescind the tariffs on aluminum extruded products determined by the Department of Commerce (DOC).  As we all know, the tariffs imposed under the China I case have played a major role in protecting the domestic industry and the hope was for this new case to increase the protections.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  However, as we look forw...

On September 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its final determinations that producers from 14 countries (China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam) have sold dumped and subsidized aluminum extrusions into the United States.  Read the full announcement HERE.  Overall rates vary depending on the producer and country of origin.  The list of specific rates by country and producer can be found on the International Trade Administrations website HERE .  This is another milestone in the trade remedy process.  The final International Trade Commission (ITC) hearing occurred on October 1, 2024, in Washington D.C. and the final determination from the ITC is expected at the beginning of November 2024. The 232 Tariff Exclusion Request results continue to come to the benefit of AEC Members.  To date, AEC Members have logged Objections to 399 different Ex...

The 232 exclusion requests, objections, rebuttals and surrebuttals process continues with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC).  Since the exclusion process on aluminum extrusions restarted in June, AEC members have logged more than 500 objections and over 40 surrebuttals with the DOC.  While there have been a few very specific exclusion requests (i.e., hard alloy, seamless tube, etc.), objections have been limited to only one producing company.  As an industry, we have mounted a stellar defense with all exclusion requests receiving three or more objections from member companies.  At this point, there have yet to be any exclusion requests to make it to the final determination and we are hoping to have the first round of results to share at the Fall Management Conference .  However, if we do start to receive results before mid-September, we will make sure to communicate results as they are made available.  The number of 232 exclusion requests greatly decrea...

Since our last update, the 232 exclusion/objection process is in full swing.  Over the last several weeks we have continued to refine the workflow and communication of the exclusion requests to make sure membership continues to receive the communications and objects when appropriate. For those members that have been working through the process we at AEC HQ thank you.  If for some reason you’re an AEC Extruder Member who should be receiving these communications, please let me know at jweber@tso.net and we’ll make sure you’re added to the distribution list. Although there are new companies submitting requests, we continue to see the same entities entering the bulk of the exclusion requests.  However, for the most part the exclusion requests are much the same with slight changes here and there.  This does simplify the objection process in a way where similar objections can be filed for multiple exclusion requests. As a reminder, price is not a valid reason for a company...

By Jason Weber, AEC VP of Government Affairs   On June 17 th , the International Trade Commission (ITC) will issue the Final Producer Questionnaire in the Aluminum Extrusion AD/CVD cases .  The questionnaire is due 30 days after it is issued .  As always, we continue to update membership with Trade Alerts as appropriate to keep them informed .  Beyond the Final Producer Questionnaire, key upcoming dates are the Final Hearing on September 9, 2024, the Final Vote on October 23, 2024, and the Final Determination on November 11 , 2024.   In last month’s essentiALs article and Fair Trade blog post, I outlined the recent Department of Commerce (DOC) changes to the 232 Aluminum Tariffs .  In that article, I outlined the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes that were removed from the General Approved Exclusions (GAEs):    GAE. 1.A : HTS 7609000000 (Aluminum tube or pipe fittings (for example, couplings, elbows, sleeves);   GAE. 4.A : ...

Written by Jason Weber, V.P. of Government Affairs, Aluminum Extruders Council. May proved to be a significant month for Trade and Government Affairs in the world of aluminum extrusions. At the beginning of May, the Department of Commerce (DOC) announced the affirmative determination on the anti-dumping (AD) portion of the trade case brought by the U.S. Aluminum Extruders Coalition (USAEC). You can read the announcement HERE . With the preliminary determination anti-dumping and countervailing duties announced against the subject countries, duty collection has begun and will be assessed against the importer of record. In between the preliminary determination and final hearing (September), Commerce will continue to collect information and potentially adjust the rates set during the preliminary determination. Another significant announcement on May 20 came from the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) within the DOC, which adjusted the General Approved Exclusions (GAEs) on Section 232 ta...

Currently, the trade agenda has largely been pursued by the Aluminum Extruders Coalition.  As they do the work and pay the bills to take this new case to its final hearing later this year, the AEC is still working on legacy matters with the original China case.  Additionally, we continue to work with Commerce to get the Generally Approved Exclusions (GAEs) removed from the Aluminum Extrusion 232.   Unfortunately, we haven’t heard any word from D.C. on the 232, but I am led to believe a decision is imminent.   We continue to show evidence of aluminum extruders exporting from countries not a part of the coalition’s case as proof that the 232 still has a place in protecting our industry.   If you see a news item about a new extrusion operation in another country aimed at our market, please send it to me.   It should be noted that the Dominican Republic part of the Coalition’s case did not survive the preliminary round.   So, this is a clear example...

 For months you’ve read my blog posts bemoaning the terrible decisions coming out of Washington D.C. related to our case.  Well, with the New Year, we have a fresh start.  And it’s a good one!  The industry has won its first Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) case involving fencing extrusions.  On December 20, 2023, Fortress withdrew its request for an administrative review, prompting U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) to terminate the administrative review entirely. Termination of the review makes the CBP’s affirmative determination of evasion final.  When terminating the review, CBP clarified that termination does not in any way preclude CBP or other agencies from pursuing additional enforcement actions against Fortress or imposing penalties should the need arise. The other EAPA fencing case is pending, and it appears the respondent is not participating.  We submitted voluntary factual information and the company in question did not submit writte...