Trade group American Extruders Council (AEC) lauded the U.S. International Trade Commission’s (ITC) unanimous decision this week to extend protections from subsidized aluminium imports from the People’s Republic of China.
The ITC’s decision to extend protections for US aluminium extruders came in the five-year sunset review of the protections it enacted in 2017. ITC’s reviews of its actions include a determination as to whether ending antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) would lead to a resumption of the situation that prompted the measures’ enactment. The ITC found that lifting those measures would simply allow aluminium extruders in China to return to the status quo ante, which would again harm domestic aluminium extruders.
Jeff Henderson, President of the Aluminum Extruders Council said in a press release that the extension of AD and CVD orders are vital to the health of American aluminium extruders.
“The ITC’s affirmative determination in this sunset review means the U.S. industry does not revert back to a time when unfairly traded imports made it very difficult for U.S. extruders to stay in business. This decision allows the U.S. aluminum extrusion industry to compete on a level playing field. We look forward to helping the U.S. government enforce these orders against bad actors trying to evade them.”
With this decision, the existing AD and CVD orders, which are as high as 86 percent and 245 percent respectively, will remain in place until at least 2027. AEC said it would continue to monitor importers from all regions of the world for any signs of evasion, absorption, and circumvention of these or any other similar measures taken to protect the health of American aluminium extruders.