Alcoa: Trump's tariffs are not enough to revive the US aluminum smelting industry
- Author:Dong Xing
- Source:Dong Xing
- Release on:2018-06-19
SMM June 19th: Alcoa has not shown great enthusiasm for open tariffs, and its shares have fallen by 15% since 2018. Alcoa said it will permanently shut down its smelter in Wenatchee, Washington, which has now completely shut down production. Alcoa also said that the smelter's annual capacity is 38,000 tons of aluminum, but it has not been operated since 2001 because of funding issues, and the company estimates that it is not economically viable to restore its operations.
The American aluminum producer Century Aluminum Company stated that since Trump levied tariffs, the company has been working hard to restore idle capacity and reemploy workers. In contrast, the aluminum industry in the United States has not been clearly affected by the positive effects of tariffs. Previously, as the U.S. sanctions against Rusal caused the market's aluminum prices to soar, in May 2018, the owner of Century Aluminum, Michael Foris, believed that the alumina as raw material for smelting would not continue to surge, but the company The stock price fell as much as 14% in the month.