Trump Tariffs To Hit Aluminium Cos Hard

Trump announced that he would double the existing 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from June 4

New Delhi: Aluminium industry body AAI (Aluminium Association of India)has expressed concerns that US President Donald Trump’s announcement to double tariffs on aluminium imports in that country will hurt the Indian manufacturers who are already under pressure from surging low-cost imports.

On May 30, Trump announced that he would double the existing 25 per cent tariffs on aluminium imports from June 4. “The 50 per cent tariff announced by Trump will damage the Indian aluminium industry, which is already under pressure from surging low-cost imports,” AAI said. The metal has strategic importance to the country and critical to industries such as defence, aerospace, energy transition, telecommunications, power and construction, it said.

Though the government just announced a 12 per cent provisional safeguard duty on certain steel imports, AAI said there should be duty guardrails for the aluminium industry as well, which has so far invested more than Rs. 1.5 lakh crore to set up the current domestic primary aluminium capacity of 4.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). FIMI Director General B K Bhatia stated the major share of Indian exports of aluminium is accounted for by US valuing about $946 million.