Last month the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) met with the Department of Commerce (DOC) to discuss our concerns with the Aluminum 232. This meeting, which I was told we would never get because the new administration was simply too busy with their transition into power, was a direct result of our email campaign to our legislators last month executed by you, the members. I want to call out Guy Charpentier with Bonnell Aluminum for his effort and result. Working through the newly elected Senator Warnock’s office, Guy was able to persuade them to set this meeting up for us. And, they did! It was an excellent meeting. We were happy to see several officials from the DOC attend, including the person responsible for the entire 232 program. I had met with him earlier when the 232 was being considered. I warned him of several risks to our market if the 232 was enacted. This meeting set us up for a bit of a “I told you so!” moment. They listened to us, and they told us they heard us.
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.