Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its final determinations that imports of common alloy aluminum sheet from 16 countries are being sold at less than fair value (or “dumped”) in the United States, and that aluminum sheet producers in three countries are benefitting from unfair government subsidies.  

“The Aluminum Association is pleased with the Commerce Department’s determination that imports of common alloy sheet from multiple countries are being sold unfairly in the United States,” said Tom Dobbins, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association.  “Common alloy sheet producers in the U.S., who have invested more than $1 billion in recent years to expand production and supply customers, are among the most competitive producers in the world.  But the industry cannot compete against products that are sold at unfairly low prices and subsidized by foreign governments.”

In its final determinations announced today, the Commerce Department calculated antidumping and countervailing duty deposit rates, as follows:

• Bahrain - 11.27 percent
• Brazil - 49.61 to 137.06 percent
• Croatia - 3.19 percent
• Egypt - 12.11 percent
• Germany - 49.40 to 242.80 percent
• India - 4.89 to 79.89 percent
• Indonesia - 32.12 percent
• Italy - 0.00 to 29.13 percent
• Oman - 5.29 percent
• Romania - 12.51 to 37.26 percent
• Serbia - 11.67 percent to 25.84 percent
• Slovenia - 13.43 percent
• South Africa - 8.85 percent
• Spain - 3.80 percent to 24.23percent
• Taiwan - 17.50 percent
• Turkey - 4.58 to 17.90 percent

The Commerce Department also reached negative antidumping determinations with respect to imports from Greece and Korea, and a negative countervailing duty determination with respect to imports from Brazil.

Regarding the negative determinations, Mr. Dobbins said, “While we were disappointed by the negative findings, we will continue to monitor import data and take action as appropriate. We remain committed to strong and robust trade enforcement across the entire aluminum market.”

The next step in the trade cases will be the United States International Trade Commission’s (USITC) final determination of whether imports from the 16 countries are a cause of material injury or threaten to materially injure domestic producers of common alloy sheet.  The USITC is scheduled to announce its final determination on March 31, 2021.    

Common alloy aluminum sheet is a flat-rolled aluminum product that is used in a variety of applications, including transportation, building and construction, infrastructure, electrical, and marine applications where its strength, relatively light-weight, formability, and resistance to corrosion are essential.  Common uses for the product under investigation include gutters and downspouts, building facades, street signs and license plates, electrical boxes, pontoon boats, and tractor trailers for trucks.  Aluminum sheet used in the manufacture of beverage cans is excluded from the scope of the investigations.

The Aluminum Association Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet Trade Enforcement Working Group is represented in these actions by John M. Herrmann, Paul C. Rosenthal, Kathleen W. Cannon, R. Alan Luberda, Brooke M. Ringel, David C. Smith, Grace W. Kim, Melissa M. Brewer, Elizabeth C. Johnson, and Joshua R. Morey of the law firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.