Congress presses Commerce Department on aluminum import exclusions

Congress appears to be backing complaints from domestic aluminum manufacturers that the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) is allowing too many exclusions from the 10% tariff President Donald Trump put on aluminum imports from all countries except Mexico and Canada.

The House Appropriations Committee just passed a DOC appropriations bill for fiscal 2021 that includes this language: “The Committee is concerned by industry reports suggesting that the Department has granted tariff exclusions for volumes of aluminum products that in some cases have exceeded historical import volumes and U.S. market demand. The Committee encourages the Commerce Department to improve its efforts to ensure that exclusion volumes are not unnecessarily disproportionate to historic import volumes and continue its efforts to leverage and advance domestic aluminum production through robust collaboration, research, and initiatives.” Fiscal 2021 starts next Oct. 1.