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Still Awaiting 232 News; China Scope Issues Settling

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 of how we need whatever protection we
Recent posts

A Nice Win to Start the Year!

 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 written arguments by the November 6, 202

Aluminum Extruders Coalition are Heroes

 The fair-trade efforts of the United States aluminum extrusion industry have certainly changed in 2023.  A year ago today, AEC members were evaluating their best strategy to address illegal and unfairly imported extrusions.  Having exhausted every effort through legislation, agency work, defense of our China orders, and so much more, aluminum extruders came together to form the Aluminum Extruders Coalition.  This group of heroic extruders took the bold step to form and file a trade case .  That case was filed against 15 countries.  In all cases an antidumping case was filed, and in four of those cases there was also a countervailing subsidy case filed.  That filing has shocked the world. As the trade case moved from concept and planning to launching and filing, a lot of work was being done to be as inclusive in this process as possible.  The more voices the Coalition had the more input available to make our case.  Furthermore, these filings are extremely expensive.  This is the essenc

Aluminum Extruders Coalition Files Historic Case; Customs Says “Yes”

Well, in case you missed it, a group of Aluminum Extruders Council members filed a historic AD/CVD case against 15 countries.  All 15 countries will be sued for dumping (AD), and four will be sued for subsidies (CVD).  In a press release issued earlier this week, which you can read here , the countries were identified as well as the projected duties the coalition seeks.  Anyone within the four walls of the Aluminum Extruders Council knew this was coming.  It has been discussed for four years.  To address rising imports, we battled in the enforcement arena, we went hard after products under assault in scope challenges and worked hard on the 232.  After exhausting every available option, and never seeing a dent in the import stats, we were faced with this hard decision.  That is where we are today.  The Hearing will be held later this month, and decisions will start to be rendered in the weeks that follow.  Communications about the details of this case will be handled by the Coalition,

Trade Enforcement and Rumors about the 232

 The U.S. extrusion industry is analyzing trade data to determine the best strategy to address the rising imports we’ve seen over the last four years.  This deep analysis has not stopped us from pursuing trade remedies within our existing orders against China.  So, over the last month we have seen activity in the China case in trade enforcement.  We currently have two EAPA allegations that are active.  One is in the fencing industry, the other is in automotive applications.  The first has significant volume implications, while the second is a key precedent regarding Chinese extrusions being sent to Mexico for fabrication prior to export to the U.S.  Each case is proceeding and when we can comment publicly about it, we will. Meanwhile, reports began to surface out of D.C. last week of movement in the 232 program.  As I write this entry, I am still not clear if this is a legislative effort intended to redefine the nature of how 232 Orders can be launched, versus a pending announcement fr

USITC Issues 332 to Assess Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Where Sustainability Meets Trade Policy

  The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is undertaking a new factfinding investigation that will assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity of steel and aluminum produced in the United States.  As part of its investigation, the Commission will conduct a survey by issuing questionnaires to firms with facilities producing steel and aluminum in the United States, whether U.S. or foreign owned, to collect data on their production of these goods and associated GHG emissions. This survey will be mailed to all extruders in the United States.  The announcement made by the ITC on July 6, 2023, can be accessed here.  As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan federal agency, will prepare a public report.  The report will provide, to the extent practicable: GHG emissions intensity estimates of steel and aluminum produced in the United States by product category and production stage in 2022, with data on Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions defined as: Scope 1: Direct emissions

Government Outreach is Paying Dividends for AEC Members

As we work on a new trade case, government affairs issues have taken center stage in recent weeks. AEC members have been working with their local elected officials and their staff over the last few weeks. In this effort we have applied pressure on these lawmakers to help us find resolutions in the Aluminum 232 General Approved Exclusions (GAEs), the surge in imports from Mexico (USMCA and 232), and the overall state of our industry as a result of these failed government policies. Since that time, Bonnell Aluminum hosted a visit to their Utah plant for Senator Mitt Romney. Western Extrusions has leaned on their representative to set up a meeting with key officials this month in Washington, D.C. to discuss our trade concerns with House Ways and Means committee staff. Taber Extrusions has initiated a Senate letter by their Arkansas Senator, Tom Cotton. Working with members, our lobbyists are circulating the letter for bipartisan support to ‘close the deal' on the Commerce Department&#