For over a decade, the U.S. aluminum industry has been under attack. Illegal subsidization of domestic aluminum production perpetuated by Russia, the Middle East, China, Australia, Argentina, Canada, Mexico and many foreign countries devastated the domestic U.S. primary aluminum industry.  

In 2000, the United States had 23 operating primary aluminum smelters, employed nearly 16,000 production workers, and today only three U.S. smelters remain. An Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that foreign countries gave major subsidies to their domestic aluminum producers. 

In 2015, the whole domestic aluminum industry was set for closure due to unfairly traded foreign imports entering the United States. By the fall of 2015, the U.S. industry was in crisis, U.S. producers had announced closure of all remaining U.S. capacity except for a single pot line, production was cut to a minuscule 765K tons and 4,000 aluminum workers lost their jobs. The historic election of President Donald J. Trump led to the Trump Administration successfully using Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to protect U.S. national security from unfairly traded aluminum. On March 8th, 2018, President Trump signed a Presidential proclamation imposing tariffs on foreign aluminum imports to protect us from countries that cheat and put U.S. national security first.  By the end of 2018, U.S. primary aluminum production increased by over 60% and the industry rebounded. President Trump’s strong leadership on trade policy saved the domestic primary aluminum industry from total collapse.

Once President Biden assumed office his administration granted exclusions and exemptions to certain countries and numerous products from the tariff which undermined the program. Shortly after being exempted from the Section 232 tariffs, primary aluminum imports from Canada surged. By 2024, imports of primary aluminum from Canada were 18 percent higher than the annual three-year average import volume from Canada prior to the imposition of Section 232 tariffs. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris ended Mr. Trump’s “Golden Age” of aluminum manufacturing and gave foreign countries a blank check to flood our country with unfairly traded aluminum imports, resulting in thousands of Americans losing their manufacturing jobs. In February 2025, President Trump signed into law two new proclamations to strengthen the Section 232 tariffs that were introduced during his historic first term. With a 25 percent elevated tariff on aluminum and a true 25 percent tariff on steel, the days of the Biden administration giving country exemptions and exceptions are over.

The tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration provide the relief needed to level the playing field for American aluminum workers and foster a thriving aluminum industry. The U.S. aluminum sector is once again on a growth trajectory, securing American jobs, revitalizing local economies, and reinforcing national security. 

As President Trump said in his address before the joint session of Congress “tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs, they’re about protecting the soul of our country.” The American Primary Aluminum Association remains committed to advocating for policies that uphold a strong and sustainable domestic aluminum industry, ensuring fair competition for American aluminum workers and manufacturers.