Last month I held an emergency webinar to discuss breakthroughs in our 232 aluminum tariff discussions with the Department of Commerce (DOC). Efforts to get our message to the DOC seem to be paying off–for now. The DOC has asked our U.S. extrusion industry to make the case to have our 232 aluminum extrusion tariffs put back in place. In my webinar, I walked through the data they want us to provide. Many of you have done so, and I thank you! However, others haven’t yet done so. We need you – all of you – to help in this effort. We may not get another shot at this. So, let’s get it done.
The hope is that reinstatement of the 232 aluminum extrusion tariffs will dull the growing imports we are seeing. I don’t think it will solve all our problems, but it may take some of the noise out of the system so we can see which countries are truly strategic threats. I think we all agree that we should not initiate a trade case unless we know what impacts the 232 tariffs could have on the surge we are experiencing.
Meanwhile, our attorneys at Wiley have collected Q3 data from several extruders. We need more! If you have not done so, please submit your Q3 data. If you are unclear about what I am writing about, give me a call. Essentially, we are continuing to collect the same data we did for our Sunset Review earlier this year through the third quarter of this year. Everyone should expect that we will want to do the same for Q4 and probably Q1 in 2023. This close monitoring of business conditions will tell us if/when we have a solid case AND what duties to expect if we win. We are all seeing our market deteriorate. So, let’s not wait until we are on our backs, let’s do something about it now.
In other news, the AEC has prepared comments in two additional matters. The first is the Inflation Reduction Act. We have submitted comments asking the Administration to encourage domestic supply of aluminum extrusions in the renewable space (and elsewhere where appropriate). This is controversial. The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) opposes our position stating they need access to cheap foreign parts. Also, we are preparing comments on the USMCA about the aluminum content requirement and country of origin for the automotive industry. This is a hot topic and a clear miss by our government in the USMCA negotiations.
EAPA activity continues to be stalled. Kingtom EAPA appeals are moving forward, and we do intend to fight hard. Most likely, this won’t get to the courts before spring 2023. Movement on other EAPA cases pending is still sluggish. It appears we have a new case initiated, but they aren’t even confirming that with us. I have let everyone in government know how disgusted we are with the way this administration has backed off trade enforcement. I don’t know if it helps, but at least they know.
This year’s administrative reviews are nearly complete, so we look for the final decision on the new tariff rates in our China case. We expect there to be no changes to the rates. Participation in these annual reviews has really diminished. As a result, there is nothing in the system that could cause the DOC to lower our current tariffs.
Elsewhere, the news has hit the press about Zhong Wang’s (ZW) bankruptcy. I’ve fielded several questions about this issue and its impact on our market. Frankly, for us, it’s a non-event. We ‘defeated’ ZW years ago and they have been ‘dead man walking’ ever since. Their direct shipments to the U.S. have been minimal, and to the extent they participated in illegal trade activity, someone else in China will surely pick up the slack. ZW is a state-owned entity. The plants they built and the presses they installed aren’t being shut down. The Chinese government will find new lieutenants to run the operation and it will be more of the same. Nevertheless, we should delight in the knowledge that our little group was able to stand up to these bullies and win. The confidence we should feel from this will energize our efforts to stop other unfair and illegal trade activities – no matter the form in which they come.
It was your support and efforts that allowed us to win in our trade war against China. Now, we must lean on that experience to guide us in the coming months on the best avenue we should take to protect our industry. Let’s rally around this, get your data into Wiley and start making it happen.
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