Washington, DC – On October 3, 2022, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) unanimously decided to extend the domestic industry’s hard-won relief from dumped and subsidized imports of aluminum extrusions from China.
In 2010, several Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) members formed the Aluminum Extrusions Fair Trade Committee–an ad hoc coalition of U.S. aluminum extrusions manufacturers–to file antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions against aluminum extrusions from China. The AEFTC prevailed in those proceedings and secured AD/CVD tariff protection from the unfairly traded imports, saving an estimated 1.2 billion pounds per year of U.S. production of extrusions from being lost to China.
The ITC made its recent decision under a required five-year “sunset review” covering extrusions. In such reviews, the Commission determines whether or not the termination of AD and/or CVD orders would likely lead to the continuation or recurrence of material injury to the domestic industry.
After conducting an investigation, the ITC determined that revoking the existing AD and CVD orders on imports of aluminum extrusions from China would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to U.S. aluminum extrusion industry. As a result of this determination, the existing duties on imports of these products from China will remain in place for at least another five years.
“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,” said Jeff Henderson, President of the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC). “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 the help of counsel, the AEC secured countervailing duties under the orders as high as 245% and dumping duties as high as 86%. “These margins make all the difference for our members,” said Henderson.
With the orders secured, the AEC and AEFTC will continue to monitor for any signs of duty evasion, absorption, and circumvention by foreign producers and imports, all of which are strictly illegal.
The AEC is an international trade association dedicated to servicing the needs of U.S. extruders. AEC members account for 80 percent of U.S. aluminum extrusion production and have over 80 extrusion operations across 31 U.S. states. The AEC and AEFTC are represented in these proceedings by Wiley Rein, LLC.
