US December aluminum imports drop 27% on year; Canada shipments over quota

US imports of primary aluminum in December fell 27% year over year to 230,187 mt, and shipments of unalloyed primary aluminum from Canada to the US exceeded the quota level for the month, according to data released Feb. 8 by the US International Trade Commission.

December’s primary aluminum imports represent the second-lowest monthly total of 2020, surpassing only the 214,429 mt shipped to the US in September. Imports for the month were down from 241,851 mt in November.

For full-year 2020, total US primary aluminum imports slid 13.8% to 3.28 million mt, ITC trade data showed.

Shipments of primary aluminum to the US from Canada plunged to 161,993 mt in December compared with 228,703 mt in December 2019.

More specifically, imports of unalloyed aluminum under HTS code 760110, which were subject to a quota for the month, dropped to 80,556 mt in December from 159,959 mt in the prior-year period.

Imports from Canada under the 760110 HTS code climbed over the 70,000 mt quota for December set by former President Donald Trump. However, the import total from September to December averaged 72,945 mt, slipping below the 77,000 mt running average for the four-month period set by Trump and the US Trade Representative.

According to Trump’s October proclamation that set thresholds on aluminum from Canada, the US and Canada would discuss the future of aluminum trade between the two countries once data from December became available.

It remains unclear how President Joe Biden will address any further quota or tariff enforcement on Canadian aluminum. A press representative from the White House was not immediately available for comment Feb. 8.

Biden recently terminated a January order signed by Trump that granted the United Arab Emirates an exemption from the 10% aluminum tariff, signaling the possibility that his administration may continue aluminum trade policies that are similar to his predecessor.

Trump’s exemption replaced the tariff with annual quota levels for the UAE that were set at 149,483 mt for unalloyed primary aluminum and 454,050 mt for alloyed value-added (VAP) aluminum (HTS 760120).

Aluminum imports from the UAE totaled 101,564 mt under 760110 (down 13% year over year) and 233,349 mt under 760120 (down 34%) in 2020.
Source: Platts