Australian aluminium yet again safe from Donald Trump's tariff bullet

According to the New York Times report, some of the United States top trade advisers including Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, and Peter Navarro, the director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, had urged the Trump administration to impose tariffs on aluminium imports from Australia. But Trump was eventually persuaded to backtrack on the decision as imposing tariffs on Australia could alienate a key ally in the Asia-Pacific region.

The surge in Australian aluminium flowing onto the American market over the past year, which now accounts for about 6 per cent of all aluminium imported to the country, led the United States top advisers come up with the idea of scrapping the exemption that was granted last year to Australia.

In May last year, when the Trump administration had imposed additional 25 per cent import tariff on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium on several countries like the European Union, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico, it had granted a rare exemption to Canberra after lobbying by the then Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

However, speaking to reporters in the Solomon Islands, the present Australian Prime Minister said the country’s aluminium exporters were doing nothing wrong. "We have an arrangement with the United States and we are working within that arrangement," he said.

Australia exports about A$500 million ($347.00 million) in steel and aluminium to the United States each year.

Copyright and Exemption Declaration :¢ÙAll articles, pictures and videos that are marked with "China Aluminum Network" on this website are copyright and belong to China Aluminium Network (www.alu.com.cn). When transshipment, any media, website or individual must list the source from "China Aluminium Network (www.alu.com.cn)". We seek legal actions against anyone that disobey this. ¢ÚArticles that marked as copy from others are for transferring more information to readers, do not represent or endorse their opinions or accuracy and reliability. When other media, website or individuals copy from our website, must keep the source. Anyone that changes the articles' sources will hold the responsibilities for copyright and law problems. We also seek legal actions against anyone that disobey this. ¢ÛIf any articles copied by our website concern the copyright and other problems, please contact us within one week.