Skip to main content

It’s Getting Hot in the Dominican Republic

By

Events are unfolding rapidly in the Dominican Republic.  During our Annual Meeting last March, we discussed the Work Release Order (WRO) we filed based on the explosive report from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from their onsite inspection at the Kingtom facility in the Dominican Republic last fall.  In that report, Customs officials claim they received about 50 notes and texts from Dominican workers at the plant about worker abuse.  Just as we were prepared to kick off a massive public relations campaign to inform D.C. about our WRO, news surfaced that the Dominican government has closed Kingtom due to worker abuse.  

Wow!  This unexpected development has helped us achieve our objective of stopping illegal and unfair trade activities from Kingtom.  Even so, we are following this closely on the ground and will still demand our government address our WRO and find in our favor.  We do not want to be dependent upon the Dominican government in this matter, but given their aggressive stance, our tactics may change.  This is a great development, and we certainly hope it sticks! 

Elsewhere, our Sunset Review is still in the preliminary phase.  We are making our final filings, which are in response to questions from the International Trade Administration, who governs the matter.  We are still hopeful and confident that the process will end at this stage and free up much needed financial resources for other matters in our case. 

Chiefly, those resources can be used to address other illegal and unfair trade practices we are researching in Latin America.  China is clearly using Latin America as a dumping ground for extrusions, scrap, billet, and even ingot.  We will continue to gather data, and once a case can be made, we will launch it.  Having the Sunset Review behind us by this summer will be a huge enabler to this effort. 

Two other Enforce and Protect Acts (EAPAs) have been filed by individual companies.  We are not at liberty to discuss details, but I can report that one of them represents about 50 million pounds per year, and the other will set a huge precedent for us in automotive parts.  We are assisting these petitioners in every way possible. 

Look for breaking news in the coming weeks about these issues and other developments.  Your support has made this possible.  So, I want to thank you for it.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Victories and Struggles: Our Mission Persists

By
 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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Section 232 Implications: Get the Latest

By
 Recently, the AEC released a detailed fact sheet outlining the implications of Section 232 tariffs on aluminum imports, available for review on our website here. This document underscores our ongoing commitment to transparency and informed decision-making within our member base. Previously, we updated the 232 Derivative Products List to include a comprehensive breakdown of HTSUS codes and product descriptions, aimed at providing clarity for our stakeholders accessible here . Additionally, The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) within the Department of Commerce established a formal process for the addition of aluminum products designated the USHTS codes. The first window for submission opened on May 1, 2025, and closed on May 15, 2025. After the posting and public comment period occurs the BIS will make a final determination within 60 days. In addition to these regulatory updates, the Trump Administratio...
Post a Comment
Read more

The 232 Takes Center Stage

By
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...
Post a Comment
Read more