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Progress Made on AD Case and GAEs for Aluminum Extrusions

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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 tariffs. Read the announcement HERE. The removal of certain HTS codes from the GAEs will be effective July 1, 2024. As you’ll notice in the publication from BIS, the changes made thus far are the direct result of the comments submitted by the AEC in 2023 and additional influence from our Congressional letter-writing campaign. Thank you to all who participated. While we are pleased with the results thus far, the AEC must continue to push for additional HTS codes to be removed from the GAEs. Additionally, with the removal of certain HTS codes from the GAEs, the exclusion application process will be restarted on July 1. Therefore, the AEC will be working with membership and legal counsel to develop a process for gathering support and objecting to exclusion requests submitted to BIS.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation 332 GHG Emissions Intensities Facility Level Questionnaire for Aluminum is in full swing. As a reminder, if you received a questionnaire the due date is June 8, 2024. Many thanks to Shane Tredup of Custom Aluminum Products Inc., and AEC Consultant Lynn Brown of Long Point Associates, for their work with the ITC in clarifying the data requirements for the questionnaire and hosting a member webinar. If you did not get a chance to attend the webinar you can view the event recording on the AECTech Webinar page HERE. (Note: you must be signed in as an AEC member to access this page. For help, please contact us at mail@aec.org.) 

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