US, EU aluminum associations jointly call for trade-related actions

Charles Johnson, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association, Arlington, Virginia, and Paul Voss, director general of European Aluminum, Brussels, sent a joint letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and EU Executive Vice-President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis prior to the continued discussions on the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum (GSA) that took place July 20-21 in Belgium.

The letter underscores the need for the GSA to address decarbonization and market behavior to support the aluminum industry on both sides of the Atlantic and stresses the importance of “timely and effective delivery” of the GSA by October 2023.

The letter reads in part: “If designed correctly, the GSA can enhance the sustainability of the aluminum industry on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. It is in fact a strategic tool with the potential to incentivize decarbonization in every region in the world. However, efforts to tackle global warming in the U.S. and the EU will be dangerously undermined if they are not accompanied by measures to curb unfair trade practices by countries that do not adhere to market economy principles.”

It also calls for ensuring “relevant and aluminum-specific benchmarks and methodologies are established with these overarching goals in mind.”

It is also critical that the agreement is open to like-minded partners such as Canada and European Free Trade Association region, which includes Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. 

“As trade relations deteriorate worldwide, any restrictions among long-standing and responsible partners will only harm aluminum producers worldwide,” Johnson and Voss write in the letter. “A well-designed agreement should recognize and incentivize the low-carbon, market-driven aluminum industries in Global Arrangement party countries, ensuring a level-playing field within the Global Arrangement as regards climate-related costs. Further, the agreement should set reasonable targets and benchmarks for nonparty countries so that they can join the agreement or face measures for high-carbon, noncompetitive imports. This will ensure that nonparty countries do not jeopardize aluminum production in Global Arrangement member countries.”

“The U.S. aluminum industry has announced more domestic investment over the past two years than the prior several decades combined,” Johnson of the Aluminum Association says. “That’s why it is so important that the U.S. government reaches a politically sustainable arrangement with the EU to support continued growth of low-carbon aluminum production here at home. We appreciate the work of Ambassador Tai and the full USTR team on this issue and look forward to continued engagement.”