AMM - Kirk Maltais
New York 03/10/2016 - China’s dominance in aluminium production is a direct threat both upstream and downstream aluminium producers, US Senator Charles Schumer from New York said in testimony submitted to the International Trade Commission (ITC).
“The aluminium we use to build our buildings roads, bridges, aircraft and automobiles should be proudly stamped ‘Made in the U.S.A.,’ and more of it should come from companies like Alcoa and Novelis,” Schumer said in a statement Oct. 3. “But in order for that to happen, we must stop heavily subsidised foreign companies, like those in China, from evading duties and dumping artificially cheap metals in our markets.”
Schumer called for ITC to “fully uncover and address predatory trade practices employed by foreign governments and producers” – specifically targeting China in his testimony. Schumer said that “unrelenting” distortions in the free market related to subsidised Chinese production could prove to be a threat to the operations of Alcoa’s Massena West smelter and Novelis Inc.’s Oswego plant, both of which are in New York.
Massena West and Oswego facilities together employ approximately 1,700 workers. Overall, the aluminum industry in New York directly employs 4,600 people, with a total economic impact of $6.6 billion, according to the statement.
China’s overcapacity is showing no signs of slowing, according to Alan Clark, director of consultancy CM Group, who said that 2.4 million tonnes of new primary capacity has come online in China this year, with another 2.7 million tonnes under construction. Meanwhile, only 600,000 tonnes have been curtailed.
New York has already faced the possibility of aluminum production leaving the state - last year, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) agreed to provide Massena West with power subsidies worth $30 million through March 31, 2019. Additionally, New York’s economic development office will provide further capital support totaling $38.8 million.
(Editing by Tom Jennemann)