Washington, DC; March 3, 2025 – Today the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) released an insightful study on the economic impact of Section 232 aluminum tariffs since their implementation in 2018. The research revealed initial gains in production, employment, and investment that subsequently were eroded by excessive exemptions and exclusions, which significantly weakened the tariff’s impact on aluminum.
“The President’s recent tariff announcement is exactly the bold action we need to secure America’s industrial strength,” said Zach Mottl, Chairman of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. “Our report shows conclusively that tariff exemptions have undermined American steel and aluminum producers, costing thousands of jobs and weakening our economic security. It is critical we implement these tariffs comprehensively, including on downstream derivative products, to protect American industry from subsidized foreign imports.”
“Under the Biden Administration, excessive exemptions and exclusions for Canada, Mexico, Australia and Argentina destroyed the tremendous jobs growth and economic progress that was made possible as a result of President Trump’s leadership in 2018,” remarked APAA President Mark Duffy. “As the CPA report shows us, aluminum tariffs with massive exemptions are ineffective. Thankfully President Trump is taking decisive action to save America’s primary aluminum industry with no country exemptions and no exceptions so we can rebuild.”
While the Section 232 program was effective in 2018, exemptions granted to several key suppliers—headlined by Canada, Australia, and the EU— led to surging aluminum imports into the United States, which devastated the domestic primary aluminum industry. With many favorable initial production restarts, this flood of foreign aluminum rendered roughly half of U.S. primary aluminum smelting capacity unprofitable by 2020. Three U.S. smelters either idled capacity or shut down completely.
The Biden Administration Section 232 aluminum tariff exemptions undermined the benefits of the program. For example, the range of exemptions on leading suppliers since the program’s inception has halved the effective tariff rate from 2018 to 5 percent in 2024. This decline has been even more pronounced for primary aluminum, where the effective tariff rate was 0.8% at the end of 2024.The CPA reports shows that exemptions do not work and are ineffective.
The APAA welcomes actions by the Trump administration to ensure the full and consistent application of Section 232 tariffs without broad exemptions that undermine their effectiveness. Strengthening the Section 232 aluminum tariffs will enable the domestic aluminum industry to recover, create thousands of new American aluminum jobs while strengthening U.S. economic and national security interests. Please read the full report here.
About the American Primary Aluminum Association:
The American Primary Aluminum Association advances the interests of America’s primary aluminum industry and its workers through the Aluminum Now campaign. APAA is registered and incorporated in Washington, DC and operates as a non-profit trade association. For more, please visit: www.aluminumnow.org.
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