China is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of manufactured aluminium goods such as foil, sheets, and semi-finished products, which are often cheaper due to large-scale production, whereas Argentina has a smaller downstream aluminium industry, but produces primary aluminium.
Though Argentina and China do not have a formal bilateral free trade agreement specifically for aluminium, their trade relationship has developed through a series of broader economic cooperation agreements over time. Because Chinese-manufactured aluminium products are often competitively priced, Argentina imports items such as aluminium foil and other processed forms for packaging, food, and industrial use.
The withdrawal of import restrictions was directed at aluminium foil, rolled but not further worked, of a thickness of not less than 0.021 mm but not more than 0.2 mm (NCM tariff heading 7607.11.90). However, investigation is still underway for the aluminium tubes from China due to price, currently having 75.5 per cent duties, while Brazilian imports were excluded.
