US aluminium group files trade complaint against China

Beijing: American aluminium producers have filed a complaint accusing Chinese smelters of exporting at improperly low prices in the first case of its kind for the administration of President Donald Trump.

An industry group, the Aluminum Association, said it filed the case Thursday with US regulators accusing Chinese producers of receiving improper subsidies and selling at unfairly low prices that hurt foreign competitors. It asked the government to impose anti-dumping duties of 38 per cent to 134 per cent on aluminium foil for consumer and industrial uses.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce appealed to Washington to avoid imposing penalties.

“China hopes that the US side will not resort to trade remedies,” the director of its trade remedies bureau, Wang Hejun, said in a statement Friday. “We hope the two countries can resolve the concerns of both industries through dialogue and hope the US. Department of Commerce will exercise caution and avoid harming mutual benefit.”

A flood of low-cost Chinese aluminium exports has pushed global prices so low that US and European smelters are closing. Producers say thousands of jobs are at risk.

Trump promised during his campaign to raise duties on Chinese imports to offset what he was unfair action by Beijing but has yet to take action.

Aluminium is one of an array of Chinese industries including steel, coal and glass whose production mushroomed over the past decade until supply vastly exceeded demand.

The ruling Communist Party is shrinking steel and coal production but has yet to announce plans for aluminium.

Additional capacity

Chinese smelters that make more than half the world’s aluminium are adding millions of tonnes of capacity, supported by what Western competitors say are improper subsidies.

After a dip in early 2016, Chinese aluminium production rebounded to a new high of 2.95 million tonnes in the month ending in mid-February, according to data compiled by the International Aluminum Institute in London.

The Aluminum Association said it was the first trade case it has filed in the group’s 85-year history. The complaint was filed with the US Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission.

“This unprecedented action reflects both the intensive injury being suffered by US aluminium foil producers and also our commitment to ensuring that trade laws are enforced to create a level playing field for domestic producers,” said the association president, Heidi Brock, in a statement.